Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?

[Tristan]

Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?
By Steven Malanga
RealClearMarkets - Articles - Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?

-snip-

And that should help explain what’s wrong with the press’s coverage of a Government Accountability Office study released last week, which reported that two-thirds of American corporations paid no taxes in 2005—including a quarter of big businesses. The report, commissioned by several labor-friendly Democratic Senators who pretty much knew based on previous studies what it would say, sparked a lot of manufactured outrage in political circles and produced a series of misleading stories, like one by the Associated Press that ran in dozens of newspapers under sensationalistic headlines like “Corporations Pay No Taxes.”

It's not cool to paste the whole article (I don't think) so I'll just mention that the proof is in the pudding and it's well worth reading the entire (short) link to have the fullest understanding possible. Clearly this is a fairly thorough debunking of a popular thread here of late.

Warning for lefties... the link contains numbers and facts and suchlike.

 

[editec]

The question isn't do they pay taxes, because of course many corporations pay huge amounts of taxes.

The question really seems to be are they paying a FAIR SHARE of their taxes given the enormous amount of money they're making?

 

[Ravi]

What a disingenuous article. I googled “Corporations Pay No Taxes,” and came up with no main stream news sources that ever ran such a headline, as was claimed in the article.

Real Clear Markets is a sham.

Are you a McCain troll, Tristan?

 

[sealybobo]

The question isn't do they pay taxes, because of course many corporations pay huge amounts of taxes.

The question really seems to be are they paying a FAIR SHARE of their taxes given the enormous amount of money they're making?

Sure they pay out a lot of taxes, but what are they getting back? I work with taxes. Tax economics of charitable giving is one issue I work with.

There are a million tax write offs that weren't there before. For example, if you have a delivery truck and every year it looses value. Now you can write that off.

So there are a million write offs and if you have good accountants, and the big corporations always do, then you can write everything off and technically, they are paying NOTHING or NEXT TO IT.

 

[editec]

Sure they pay out a lot of taxes, but what are they getting back? I work with taxes. Tax economics of charitable giving is one issue I work with.

There are a million tax write offs that weren't there before. For example, if you have a delivery truck and every year it looses value. Now you can write that off.

So there are a million write offs and if you have good accountants, and the big corporations always do, then you can write everything off and technically, they are paying NOTHING or NEXT TO IT.

Sort of my point, Sealy.

 

[sealybobo]

Sort of my point, Sealy.

I know. I was agreeing with you. I'd rather say it to you, someone who listens and understands, than tell it to someone who doesn't get it.

 

[Charles_Main]

Are you a McCain troll, Tristan?

Kinda like how you are a democrat Troll?

 

[Glori.B]

For example, if you have a delivery truck and every year it looses value. Now you can write that off.

it's called depreciation and it's nothing new...vehicles are depreciable assets, equipment is depreciable, real estate is depreciable, etc...

 

[Ravi]

Kinda like how you are a democrat Troll?

When have I posted anything suspect like Tristan just did?

I'll wait.

 

[sealybobo]

it's called depreciation and it's nothing new...vehicles are depreciable assets, equipment is depreciable, real estate is depreciable, etc...

I just gave that as one small example because I knew you would all understand that kind of write off.

What I am telling you is that they passed a bunch of new laws that gave corporations even more tax write offs.

economic stimulus act, energy act, american jobs creation act, pension protection act, working families tax relief act, tax relief & healthcare act,

 

[Glori.B]

When have I posted anything suspect like Tristan just did?

I'll wait.

oh, i think you definitely qualify as a dem bot!



touche`

 

[Bern80]

The question isn't do they pay taxes, because of course many corporations pay huge amounts of taxes.

The question really seems to be are they paying a FAIR SHARE of their taxes given the enormous amount of money they're making?

How does making a lot of money equate to paying more taxes is fair?

If we want to talk about what's fair it would seem the ultimate way to be fair would be to come up with something that requires people to essentially pay in taxes what they use in government provided services, wouldn't it?

 

[Bern80]

Sure they pay out a lot of taxes, but what are they getting back? I work with taxes. Tax economics of charitable giving is one issue I work with.

There are a million tax write offs that weren't there before. For example, if you have a delivery truck and every year it looses value. Now you can write that off.

The tax is based on the value of the NEW product. What sense does it make to pay a tax rate for NEW item that isn't new anymore?

Ultimately though I don't like write offs, not because I think they are sneaky loopholes or think they should pay more. It just adds more complications to an already complicated system

 

[sealybobo]

The tax is based on the value of the NEW product. What sense does it make to pay a tax rate for NEW item that isn't new anymore?

Ultimately though I don't like write offs, not because I think they are sneaky loopholes or think they should pay more. It just adds more complications to an already complicated system

Sure does.

 

[Tristan]

When have I posted anything suspect like Tristan just did?

I'll wait.

"Suspect", LOL.

The politics behind the GAO report are transparent—to undermine the momentum that’s building to cut corporate tax rates. As I wrote several weeks ago (“In the U.S., Selectively Applied Capitalism,” July 28), the U.S. has the second highest corporate tax rate among 30 countries in the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development. That matters because, as economists for the OECD recently concluded, the corporate tax is the most harmful to economic growth of all the levies most commonly used by member nations. That’s why GOP presidential nominee John McCain favors lowering it, but so does the powerful Democratic Chairmen of the House Ways & Means Committee, Charlie Rangel. The Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, has also said in newspaper interviews that he would consider cutting the corporate tax, but he hasn’t made that an official part of his platform.

In this case I agree with McCain, Charlie Rangel and maybe Obama. Not sure what kind of troll that is exactly.

 

[Red Dawn]

Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?
By Steven Malanga
RealClearMarkets - Articles - Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes?

-snip-

It's not cool to paste the whole article (I don't think) so I'll just mention that the proof is in the pudding and it's well worth reading the entire (short) link to have the fullest understanding possible. Clearly this is a fairly thorough debunking of a popular thread here of late.

Warning for lefties... the link contains numbers and facts and suchlike.

So professional tax experts at the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office publish a report that 2/3rds of corporations pay no taxes.

Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report showing that between 1998 and 2005 “about two-thirds of corporations operating in the United States did not pay taxes.”

And you respond with an Op-ed opinion article, written by a guy with a degree in English Literature, from some website I've never heard of.....

Steven Malanga holds a B.A. in English Literature and Language from St. Vincent's College, as well as an M.A., in the same subject, from the University of Maryland.-- Wiki

ROFLMAO!

 

[Tristan]

So professional tax experts at the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office publish a report that 2/3rds of corporations pay no taxes.



And you respond with an Op-ed opinion article, written by a guy with a degree in English Literature, from some website I've never heard of.....




ROFLMAO!

Yep. Which opinion did you care for the least by the way?

Kevin Hassett, in a Bloomberg commentary, explained that most small businesses are now organized in such a way that many prefer to take their profits as an owner’s salary and pay taxes on the wages.

As Michigan Senator Carl Levin, a frequent critic of corporations, said of the study, “Twenty-five percent of the largest U.S. corporations [those with more than $50 million in revenues] had $1.1 trillion in gross sales in 2005 and yet paid no federal income taxes.” That statement suggests that Levin is either trying to mislead us or that he has made it into the world’s most exclusive club, the U.S. Senate, without knowing the difference between earnings and sales.

Many businesses we regard as successful operate on small profit margins. After paying $5.8 billion in taxes in 2005, Wal-Mart earned $11.7 billion—a nice chunk of change. But those earnings were on revenues of $312 billion, a mere 3.4 percent net profit margin

.

Exxon Mobil earned $36 billion in 2005 after paying $23.3 billion in taxes on revenues of $371 billion. Looking at that result you realize that in America today, a ‘windfall’ profit is one that amounts to less than 10 percent of revenues.

 

[DiamondDave]

The question isn't do they pay taxes, because of course many corporations pay huge amounts of taxes.

The question really seems to be are they paying a FAIR SHARE of their taxes given the enormous amount of money they're making?

No.. the question is where does shit roll down hill to? The more corporations are charged extra taxes, the more they will raise the prices to the consumer...

Corporations pay a huge amount in taxes.. not only on profits/earnings/etc but also on about every purchasing aspect of their business...

Yes, corporations get write offs for losses and for charitable givings and the like, BUT so can each and every one of us....

I am not one for loopholes... I would LOVE to see a simplified tax code closing up the BS... but don't think that will happen if Dems will be in control.. just like a fair and equitable tax system based on equal burden percentage

 

[TeachMe]

I know. I was agreeing with you. I'd rather say it to you, someone who listens and understands, than tell it to someone who doesn't get it.

Do I count? I understood it.

 

[Tristan]

No.. the question is where does shit roll down hill to? The more corporations are charged extra taxes, the more they will raise the prices to the consumer...

Corporations pay a huge amount in taxes.. not only on profits/earnings/etc but also on about every purchasing aspect of their business...

Yes, corporations get write offs for losses and for charitable givings and the like, BUT so can each and every one of us....

I am not one for loopholes... I would LOVE to see a simplified tax code closing up the BS... but don't think that will happen if Dems will be in control.. just like a fair and equitable tax system based on equal burden percentage

I agree with "most" of that.

"Loophole"- a tiny slice of freedom that the government accidentally missed taking away on the first try.