A Plan Democrats Should Endorse

[PoliticalChic]

1. Cut corporate taxes. Currently, we have the first or second highest business tax rate in the world, with a federal of 35% plus a state that brings it to 40%-45%. Funny how much of the world outside of the US has learned from Reaganomics. “As of Apr. 1, we now have the highest corporate tax rate of all the industrialized nations in the world.” We need a lower corporate tax rate | The Great Debate nnb


2. Democrats propose increasing capital gains tax rates by 66%...rather, we should match China, and abolish capital gains taxes altogether, both for individuals and for corporations. With the current double-taxing of capital income, we discourage the venture capital that feeds start-ups and creates jobs. “Most developed countries provide relief from the double tax on corporate profits because it distorts important economic decisions that waste economic resources and adversely affect economic performance…” http://www.theasi.org/assets/EY_ASI...nternational_Comparison_Report_2012-02-03.pdf

a. Just these two measures alone would make America the most desirable country in the world in which to invest and start a business.




3. Next, cut federal payroll taxes by 50% for a period of not less than two years, and follow with a permanent personal account option for a portion of younger worker’s payroll taxes. Workers opting for the personal accounts must be guaranteed that they will get at least as much as Social Security promises today….so they cannot lose by choosing the option.


4. Abolish the death tax, admitting that workers already pay considerable taxes on money saved over their lifetime.

5. There should be immediate expensing for 100% of new equipment purchases by businesses. Such a write-off would lead to massive investment in new machinery.




6. End the regressive energy tax policies endorsed by Democrats, allowing the production of low-cost, reliable energy supplies from American sources.


7. And, we must always remember that entrepreneurship is the audacity, perseverance, and competence that turn an individual into a creator, whether of wealth, science, technology, or military success….and we must honor it.
Covered in chapter 12 of Gingrich's "To Save America."




BTW....today is the anniversary of FDR's signing of the Social Security Act....1935.
Time for a reformation.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I can't see Liberals agreeing to any of that. Even danging the carrot stick of "China is doing it" won't help.

 

[Zander]

I'd like to see a spending freeze for 5 years. No cuts required - just a freeze. No increases to any government spending program for 5 years. And if we eliminate unneeded programs we could allow COLA adjustments for Social Security recipients.

We need to allow the economy catch up to the massive Obama spending. We are collecting 16% of GDP in taxes and spending about 24% - it is unsustainable.

 

[Moonglow]

Topping out at 35 percent, America’s official corporate income tax rate trails that of only Japan, at 39.5 percent, which has said it plans to lower its rate. It is nearly triple Ireland’s and 10 percentage points higher than in Denmark, Austria or China. To help companies here stay competitive, many executives say, Congress should lower it.

But by taking advantage of myriad breaks and loopholes that other countries generally do not offer, United States corporations pay only slightly more on average than their counterparts in other industrial countries. And some American corporations use aggressive strategies to pay less — often far less — than their competitors abroad and at home. A Government Accountability Office study released in 2008 found that 55 percent of United States companies paid no federal income taxes during at least one year in a seven-year period it studied.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/business/economy/03rates.html

 

[Moonglow]

According to the financial site NerdWallet, the 10 most profitable U.S. companies paid an average federal tax rate of just 9 percent last year. The group includes heavyweights Exxon Mobil, Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and General Electric. (Hat tip: Barry Ritholtz.)

10 Most Profitable U.S. Corporations Paid Average Tax Rate Of Just 9 Percent Last Year: Report

 

[Moonglow]

The statutory federal income tax rate for big American companies is 35%. But a study by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, two Washington, DC-based think-tanks, has assessed the tax records of 280 companies from the Fortune 500 list with reliable pre-tax profit reports. Among these companies the average effective tax rate between 2008-10 was only 18.5%. While 71 companies paid over 30% of their profits in federal income tax, 30 enjoyed negative tax rates over the whole three year period. Pepco, an electricity company, had the lowest effective tax rate of -57.6%. Wells Fargo, a bank, received the biggest tax subsidy over the three years of almost $18 billion, and was one of 25 companies which took more than half of the total $223 billion subsidy claimed. In at least one of the three years, 78 firms paid no or negative tax rates, and legally-by writing off capital investments before they actually wear out (known as "accelerated depreciation"), making use of tax deductible stock options and industry-specific tax breaks, and offshore tax havens.

Focus: US corporate tax | The Economist

 

[Moonglow]

I am all for cutting taxes, but first let us stop deductions that let companies avoid paying taxes.

 

[AmyNation]

I wouldnt be opposed to tax cuts if you also cut tax loopholes.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I am all for cutting taxes, but first let us stop deductions that let companies avoid paying taxes.

I wouldnt be opposed to tax cuts if you also cut tax loopholes.

I think you guys are missing something. Corporations WRITE the tax codes that Congress passes so naturally there are loopholes and exemptions for themselves. Don't believe me? Just look at where Obama's Cabinet Members come from.

Just like the Insurance Industry wrote ObamaCare.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I am all for cutting taxes, but first let us stop deductions that let companies avoid paying taxes.

I must say, drop-draws that you always bring something to the table!

Bravo!


Corporate tax is imposed in the United States at the Federal, most state, and some local levels on the income of entities treated for tax purposes as corporations. Federal tax rates on corporate taxable income vary from 15% to 35%. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many are based on Federal concepts and definitions. Taxable income may differ from book income both as to timing of income and tax deductions and as to what is taxable. Corporations are also subject to a Federal Alternative Minimum Tax and alternative state taxes….Wyoming has no corporate tax, and several states go up to almost 10%/ (Iowa is 12%) Corporate tax in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[PoliticalChic]

Topping out at 35 percent, America’s official corporate income tax rate trails that of only Japan, at 39.5 percent, which has said it plans to lower its rate. It is nearly triple Ireland’s and 10 percentage points higher than in Denmark, Austria or China. To help companies here stay competitive, many executives say, Congress should lower it.

But by taking advantage of myriad breaks and loopholes that other countries generally do not offer, United States corporations pay only slightly more on average than their counterparts in other industrial countries. And some American corporations use aggressive strategies to pay less — often far less — than their competitors abroad and at home. A Government Accountability Office study released in 2008 found that 55 percent of United States companies paid no federal income taxes during at least one year in a seven-year period it studied.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/business/economy/03rates.html

1. Spin: altering the truth without altering the facts.

2. The above, applied to the NYTimes.....the house organ of the Left.
They LOVE taxes!!

3.But, even the NYTimes admits the following:
"United States corporations pay only slightly more on average than their counterparts in other industrial countries."

4. Did you see this in the OP?
"Just these two measures alone would make America the most desirable country in the world in which to invest and start a business."


So....where's the beef???

 

[PoliticalChic]

I am all for cutting taxes, but first let us stop deductions that let companies avoid paying taxes.

I wouldnt be opposed to tax cuts if you also cut tax loopholes.

I think you guys are missing something. Corporations WRITE the tax codes that Congress passes so naturally there are loopholes and exemptions for themselves. Don't believe me? Just look at where Obama's Cabinet Members come from.

Just like the Insurance Industry wrote ObamaCare.

1. Man, oh, man!!!

Brilliant, doc! You nailed it....corporatism is government protocol!!!!



2. The actuality is that big business knows that the greatest threat is not government or its regulation, but competition with smaller, more innovative firms. So, when the opportunity arises to cooperate with government in crafting new regulation, big business lobbyists, rather than opposing ‘reform,’ they write the laws for their own advantages!

a. The truth about the Left’s push for ever-greater regulation of private industry is that, rather than to protect consumers against big business…it is designed to make big business become part of their political machine.

b. And big business will pay whatever it takes to join.


3. Example: The regulatory reforms of the meat packing industry in the early 1900s, inspired by Upton Sinclair’s muckraking book “The Jungle,” were enacted with the enthusiastic cooperation of America’s largest meat packing corporations- because they knew that only the largest could afford to comply with the new regulations. Thus, the smaller ones were driven out of business.

a. Upton Sinclair: “The federal inspection of meat was historically established at the packer’s request. It is maintained and paid for by the people of the United States for the benefit of the packers.”
William J. Chambliss, “Making Law: The State, the Law, and Structural Contradictions,” p. 5


Great post.
It wouldn't allow me to rep you yet!

 

[PoliticalChic]

The statutory federal income tax rate for big American companies is 35%. But a study by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, two Washington, DC-based think-tanks, has assessed the tax records of 280 companies from the Fortune 500 list with reliable pre-tax profit reports. Among these companies the average effective tax rate between 2008-10 was only 18.5%. While 71 companies paid over 30% of their profits in federal income tax, 30 enjoyed negative tax rates over the whole three year period. Pepco, an electricity company, had the lowest effective tax rate of -57.6%. Wells Fargo, a bank, received the biggest tax subsidy over the three years of almost $18 billion, and was one of 25 companies which took more than half of the total $223 billion subsidy claimed. In at least one of the three years, 78 firms paid no or negative tax rates, and legally-by writing off capital investments before they actually wear out (known as "accelerated depreciation"), making use of tax deductible stock options and industry-specific tax breaks, and offshore tax havens.

Focus: US corporate tax | The Economist

Have you been able to ascertain the actual taxes paid by corporations in other industrialized nations?
...for purposes of comparison....


Therefore the essence of the OP applies.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I can't see Liberals agreeing to any of that. Even danging the carrot stick of "China is doing it" won't help.

You really don't think that Obama was hinting that that was his plan here:



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFR8DbSRQE]Obama open mic slip: 'After my election I have more flexibility' - YouTube[/ame]