Badger Corporate Tax Dodgers!

[georgephillip]

Next April 15th (Tax Day) would be a good time to connect the dots between state and local revenue shortages and the scandal of corporate tax dodging.

States across the country face combined budget deficits of over $102 billion while overseas tax havens cost the US Treasury over a $100 billion per year.

The UK appears to be leading the way:

"In England, the movement UK UNCUT, has galvanized street protests, media investigations and legislative action. They have dramatized the scandal of billions lost thanks to overseas tax havens and corporate loopholes with the human face of federal and state budget cuts.

"In every U.S. state, we should be doing the same.

"Every time a politician complains that 'there is no money' or 'we must make these cuts,' we should be pointing to the corporate tax dodging that could immediately close our budget gaps.

"We should name names and show up at their branches.

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

"Pay up! General Electric, Carnival Cruise lines, Boeing, FedEx, News Corp, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble.

"They pretend their profits are earned in tax havens like the Grand Cayman Islands and their losses are earned in the U.S., lowering their tax bills."

Wisconsin 2.0:

 

[WillowTree]

Next April 15th (Tax Day) would be a good time to connect the dots between state and local revenue shortages and the scandal of corporate tax dodging.

States across the country face combined budget deficits of over $102 billion while overseas tax havens cost the US Treasury over a $100 billion per year.

The UK appears to be leading the way:

"In England, the movement UK UNCUT, has galvanized street protests, media investigations and legislative action. They have dramatized the scandal of billions lost thanks to overseas tax havens and corporate loopholes with the human face of federal and state budget cuts.

"In every U.S. state, we should be doing the same.

"Every time a politician complains that 'there is no money' or 'we must make these cuts,' we should be pointing to the corporate tax dodging that could immediately close our budget gaps.

"We should name names and show up at their branches.

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

"Pay up! General Electric, Carnival Cruise lines, Boeing, FedEx, News Corp, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble.

"They pretend their profits are earned in tax havens like the Grand Cayman Islands and their losses are earned in the U.S., lowering their tax bills."

Wisconsin 2.0:

Pay up GE? You're fucking kidding us right?? When did anyone obie wan ever associate himself with actually pay taxes??? phukin phunny..

 

[Oddball]

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

Wells Fargo was completely solvent and forced to take TARP, BoA was forced to buy Merill Lynch (which ended up sucking their asset pool dry), while Goldman Sachs is a revolving door for Treasury Secretaries, Fed Chairmen and other of the highest financial posts in gubmint.

But don't let niggling little things like facts get in the way of one of your hallucinatory rants.

 

[washamericom]

Next April 15th (Tax Day) would be a good time to connect the dots between state and local revenue shortages and the scandal of corporate tax dodging.

States across the country face combined budget deficits of over $102 billion while overseas tax havens cost the US Treasury over a $100 billion per year.

The UK appears to be leading the way:

"In England, the movement UK UNCUT, has galvanized street protests, media investigations and legislative action. They have dramatized the scandal of billions lost thanks to overseas tax havens and corporate loopholes with the human face of federal and state budget cuts.

"In every U.S. state, we should be doing the same.

"Every time a politician complains that 'there is no money' or 'we must make these cuts,' we should be pointing to the corporate tax dodging that could immediately close our budget gaps.

"We should name names and show up at their branches.

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

"Pay up! General Electric, Carnival Cruise lines, Boeing, FedEx, News Corp, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble.

"They pretend their profits are earned in tax havens like the Grand Cayman Islands and their losses are earned in the U.S., lowering their tax bills."

Wisconsin 2.0:

ok, if you say so mr. thompson from atlas shrugged....

 

[georgephillip]

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

Wells Fargo was completely solvent and forced to take TARP, BoA was forced to buy Merill Lynch (which ended up sucking their asset pool dry), while Goldman Sachs is a revolving door for Treasury Secretaries, Fed Chairmen and other of the highest financial posts in gubmint.

But don't let niggling little things like facts get in the way of one of your hallucinatory rants.

Don't get bitch slapped by reality:

"These US companies use our shared infrastructure, but don’t pay their fair share. They enjoy our roads, national defense, emergency services, and federally-funded research. They are profitable but don’t pay their full freight. They undercut local businesses that pay their taxes while struggling to compete on an unlevel playing field.

“There’s a direct connection between corporate tax dodging and what’s happening in people’s lives,” said Carl Gibson one of the founders of US UNCUT Mississippi. “If we close those loopholes, we wouldn’t have to be cutting back on firefighters, library hours and student loans

Wisonsin 2.0

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

Wells Fargo was completely solvent and forced to take TARP, BoA was forced to buy Merill Lynch (which ended up sucking their asset pool dry), while Goldman Sachs is a revolving door for Treasury Secretaries, Fed Chairmen and other of the highest financial posts in gubmint.

But don't let niggling little things like facts get in the way of one of your hallucinatory rants.

Don't get bitch slapped by reality:

"These US companies use our shared infrastructure, but don’t pay their fair share. They enjoy our roads, national defense, emergency services, and federally-funded research. They are profitable but don’t pay their full freight. They undercut local businesses that pay their taxes while struggling to compete on an unlevel playing field.

Wisonsin 2.0

My God man... do a little research on the amount of permits, fees, tolls, taxes, etc. required to run a load of freight cross-country and get back to us. As for the national defense and the rest of your drek, we've have millions of people in this country enjoying these services and paying absolutely NOTHING. But yeah, let's beat up on Amway and Halliburton.

 

[georgephillip]

Wells Fargo was completely solvent and forced to take TARP, BoA was forced to buy Merill Lynch (which ended up sucking their asset pool dry), while Goldman Sachs is a revolving door for Treasury Secretaries, Fed Chairmen and other of the highest financial posts in gubmint.

But don't let niggling little things like facts get in the way of one of your hallucinatory rants.

Don't get bitch slapped by reality:

"These US companies use our shared infrastructure, but don’t pay their fair share. They enjoy our roads, national defense, emergency services, and federally-funded research. They are profitable but don’t pay their full freight. They undercut local businesses that pay their taxes while struggling to compete on an unlevel playing field.

Wisonsin 2.0

My God man... do a little research on the amount of permits, fees, tolls, taxes, etc. required to run a load of freight cross-country and get back to us. As for the national defense and the rest of your drek, we've have millions of people in this country enjoying these services and paying absolutely NOTHING. But yeah, let's beat up on Amway and Halliburton.

$102 billion in combined state budget deficits.
$100 billion per year in tax revenues lost to corporate tax havens.
Blame schoolteachers and seniors.
Yes?

 

[georgephillip]

Next April 15th (Tax Day) would be a good time to connect the dots between state and local revenue shortages and the scandal of corporate tax dodging.

States across the country face combined budget deficits of over $102 billion while overseas tax havens cost the US Treasury over a $100 billion per year.

The UK appears to be leading the way:

"In England, the movement UK UNCUT, has galvanized street protests, media investigations and legislative action. They have dramatized the scandal of billions lost thanks to overseas tax havens and corporate loopholes with the human face of federal and state budget cuts.

"In every U.S. state, we should be doing the same.

"Every time a politician complains that 'there is no money' or 'we must make these cuts,' we should be pointing to the corporate tax dodging that could immediately close our budget gaps.

"We should name names and show up at their branches.

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

"Pay up! General Electric, Carnival Cruise lines, Boeing, FedEx, News Corp, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble.

"They pretend their profits are earned in tax havens like the Grand Cayman Islands and their losses are earned in the U.S., lowering their tax bills."

Wisconsin 2.0:

Pay up GE? You're fucking kidding us right?? When did anyone obie wan ever associate himself with actually pay taxes??? phukin phunny..

"Take GE, for example. GE has $36Bn in sales and paid $431M in taxes (15% of net profits) in 2009.

"They also paid out $9Bn in dividends and over $24Bn in 2008 and 2007 and in 2007 they bought back their own stock but, in those three years, they paid -(NEGATIVE) $900M in taxes! "

Phil's Stock World

 

[waltky]

Granny says tax `em to make up for the lost tax revenue from jobs outsourced overseas...

Are U.S. companies really drowning in taxes or artful dodgers?
WASHINGTON — 35 percent tax rate is vastly overstated, many experts say

Whether U.S. companies are drowning in high taxes or artful exploiters of loopholes is at the center of a debate over reforming corporate taxes. Corporate America and Republicans often point to the United States as having among the highest tax rates in the world at about 35 percent, saying it makes the country less competitive and drives jobs overseas. The Obama administration has acknowledged the need to overhaul the complex and confusing corporate tax code and agreed the top statutory rate is too high.

But administration officials say the 35 percent figure overstates U.S. companies' disadvantage once deductions and other breaks bring their "effective" tax rate much lower. "Our tax system has not kept pace with the rest of the world," John Engler, the former Republican governor who heads up the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives from the biggest U.S. companies. The group of heavyweights like Verizon Communications and American Express Co. released a comparison of effective tax rates on Thursday that it said showed companies still pay more than their global peers.

The Business Roundtable-funded study, by corporate accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, found an average effective tax rate of 27.7 percent among about 500 U.S.-headquartered companies. That compared with a non-U.S. average effective tax rate of 19.5 percent across on a large selection of countries, from Nigeria to Japan to Qatar, according to the study. But a lot depends on what countries you are comparing the United States against, and how you crunch the data.

More Are U.S. companies really drowning in taxes? - Business - Tax Tactics - msnbc.com

 

[Wiseacre]

Let me ask a question: if you force US businesses to pay more taxes one way or another, who do you think ultimately pays it? If you increase a business's tax burden, they're going to take one or more of the following steps:

1. pass the cost onto the customers, in part or in total.

2. cut costs somewhere else, including fewer employees or fewer hours worked.

3. outsource, automate, rework the business model if possible.

4. go out of business or move to another country. Some small businesses may not need much of a nudge these days.


The reality is that raising corp taxes may not be the good thing you think it is. Do you really think businesses are just going to accept less profit without making any changes such as those listed above? If so, I would suggest you get in touch with reality.

 

[American Horse]

"First there are the banks that wrecked our economy and accepted billions in taxpayer funded TARP funds. These include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Our message: Pay up!

Wells Fargo was completely solvent and forced to take TARP, BoA was forced to buy Merill Lynch (which ended up sucking their asset pool dry), while Goldman Sachs is a revolving door for Treasury Secretaries, Fed Chairmen and other of the highest financial posts in gubmint.

But don't let niggling little things like facts get in the way of one of your hallucinatory rants.

Don't get bitch slapped by reality:

"These US companies use our shared infrastructure, but don’t pay their fair share. They enjoy our roads, national defense, emergency services, and federally-funded research. They are profitable but don’t pay their full freight. They undercut local businesses that pay their taxes while struggling to compete on an unlevel playing field.

“There’s a direct connection between corporate tax dodging and what’s happening in people’s lives,” said Carl Gibson one of the founders of US UNCUT Mississippi. “If we close those loopholes, we wouldn’t have to be cutting back on firefighters, library hours and student loans

Wisonsin 2.0

Tell all that to the politicians who created the loopholes to favor certain corporations to leverage political contributions and to force feed their concept of social change; and ask yourself which politicians it is who most favor loopholes so that they pay no corporate income taxes.

And corporations which operate overseas don't owe a share of corporate income tax on those earnings until they repatriate those dollars by bringing them back to American shores. Because of that $14-trillion remains overseas to avoid taxes. Some large part of that $14-T, if it wasn't taxed at all could create jobs at home as it built plant and manufacturing capacity here instead of overseas.

I favor no federal corporate income tax at all. The corporate income tax is regressive; the poorest among us pay a greater share of their meager earnings to be the proxie payers of those taxes as they purchase goods and services from corporations, either directly or indirectly.

They also suffer more from lack of job opportunities due to corporate income taxes, and jobs moving overseas to avoid paying those corporate income taxes as I described above about re-patriation of funds.

 

[Antiderivative]

The GOP cheerleaders this shit.

 

[American Horse]

"These US companies use our shared infrastructure, but don’t pay their fair share. They enjoy our roads, national defense, emergency services, and federally-funded research. They are profitable but don’t pay their full freight. They undercut local businesses that pay their taxes while struggling to compete on an unlevel playing field.

“There’s a direct connection between corporate tax dodging and what’s happening in people’s lives,” said Carl Gibson one of the founders of US UNCUT Mississippi. “If we close those loopholes, we wouldn’t have to be cutting back on firefighters, library hours and student loans

Wisonsin 2.0

This is just plain silly.
What infrastructure do large corporations not pay for? All roads are paid for by federal gasoline taxes. When corporations ship their products they support the maintenance of highways, roads, and bridges, and Small businesses grow up around corporations. When Westinghouse Electric Corporation left our town 20 years ago a number of small manufacturing concerns that had grown up around WEC remained and grew as they expanded their customer base. Federally funded research, if not paid for directly by corporations, benefits us all, and corporations end up being the best system to develop and distribute those things so that we all get to enjoy them as "improvements" to our lives.

In our own town (city of 100,000) , when Wal-Mart came, a few small stores which were poorly run and marginally profitable closed. The best stayed open, grew and expanded their operations.

Firefighters, police forces, water and sewer utilities, schools, libraries are all paid for by corporations through local property taxes. Corporations are the largest payers of property taxes in the counties where they are located. That's part of the reason, when they move on looking for workers who are not unionized because they can no longer compete; they end up tearing down their old buildings. Thus they return the ground to the original unimproved state, to stop paying taxes on empty buildings. When corporations move on, cities, towns, and counties who lose them lose large amounts of taxes to support so much of the local infrastructure.

And once again, regarding loopholes and corporate income taxes see my opinion of them in my post #11 above.

 

[ClosedCaption]

You can't ask corps to pay more than $0 dollars in taxes. that's socialism!!!

 

[American Horse]

You can't ask corps to pay more than $0 dollars in taxes. that's socialism!!!

It's that kind of balderdash that keeps us locked in failure; there's no element of truth in that statement, but by saying it you convince some dumbasses that those on the right see it that way; that is what is known as a cheap shot. Try to improve your talking points and argue your real position.

 

[Late2TheParty]

Let me ask a question: if you force US businesses to pay more taxes one way or another, who do you think ultimately pays it? If you increase a business's tax burden, they're going to take one or more of the following steps:

1. pass the cost onto the customers, in part or in total.

2. cut costs somewhere else, including fewer employees or fewer hours worked.

3. outsource, automate, rework the business model if possible.

4. go out of business or move to another country. Some small businesses may not need much of a nudge these days.


The reality is that raising corp taxes may not be the good thing you think it is. Do you really think businesses are just going to accept less profit without making any changes such as those listed above? If so, I would suggest you get in touch with reality.

If it's on profits, they'll likely just pass less profit to shareholders. You can't pass on costs to customers in a free market for long (if there is an existing healthy profit margin) because of competition. Also, if one company is paying taxes (like Google) and another isn't (GE), it make GE's ability to compete lopsided and in their favor compared to taxpaying competitors.

Something like GE may move to another country, but they can alway face the threat of imports duties.

 

[georgephillip]

Some shareholders are more equal than others.

One big reason the richest 1% of Americans have increased their share of national wealth over the last two years is the recovery of the stock market. Most of their wealth stems directly from investments in stocks.

Since minimizing corporate taxes improves profit margins a rising tide of stocks lifts all yachts with some yachts rising more than others:

"The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year.

"The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.

"Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent."

Moving to another country is an option open to the richest individuals in the US as well as many of the corporations their lifestyles depend on.

Whether such a move should cost the rich their US citizenship is another question most elected Republicans AND Democrats would rather not confront.

Super Rich See Federal Taxes Drop Dramatically | Common Dreams

 

[editec]

Oh those poor, poor multibillion dollar international corporations.

Isn't there more we can do for them?

 

[ClosedCaption]

You can't ask corps to pay more than $0 dollars in taxes. that's socialism!!!

It's that kind of balderdash that keeps us locked in failure; there's no element of truth in that statement, but by saying it you convince some dumbasses that those on the right see it that way; that is what is known as a cheap shot. Try to improve your talking points and argue your real position.

That's not a cheap shot, that's a summary of what those on the right are saying. think I'm lying?

Show me where a right winger says anything other than "so". Sure they lay out the old stale "pay on the cost to consumers" bs. That's nothing more than saying it's ok, without actually saying it.

 

[editec]

I CAN SEE the argument for the complete elimination of corporate taxes.

But assuming we do that we need to make up the shortfalls someplace else.

Who gets their taxes raised to make up for that tax reduction?

Well...who has the money to make up the difference?

Show me the money, folks.