Windfall Profit tax

[Skull Pilot]

We all know BHO does not like it when a company makes money at the expense of the people. He prposes a windfall tax on oil companies who post an 8-10% profit margin because he thinks they make too much money.

What about other companies that post near 10% profit in an economic downturn; aren't these companies getting rich on the backs of the people as well? Shouldn't these greedy exploitative companies be subject to a wind fall tax? After all how dare they show a profit in the worst economy since the depression? How dare these companies NOT ask for government bail out money?

Wal-Mart Flourishes as Economy Turns Sour - WSJ.com

On Thursday, after a week of bad news from retailers such as Best Buy Co. and Starbucks Corp., Wal-Mart said earnings for the third quarter rose 9.8% while sales rose 7.5%. At stores open at least a year, sales rose 3%, twice as much as a year before, and far better than nearly every other U.S. retailer.



Indeed, the downturn is increasing Wal-Mart's clout...

Even with unemployment rising, Wal-Mart said that it had hired 33,000 new employees in the 12 months prior to October. Its U.S. work force now stands at 1.45 million, making it an economic driver for millions of other jobs dependent on Wal-Mart.

It's obvious that Walmart is taking advantage of an economic crisis to boost its profits and Walmart has the absolute gall to hire people when unemployment is rising.

This is obviously worthy of a windfall tax.

 

[editec]

We all know BHO does not like it when a company makes money at the expense of the people. He prposes a windfall tax on oil companies who post an 8-10% profit margin because he thinks they make too much money.

I wasn't aware that Obama was calling for a windfall profits tax.

Can you lead me to data that supports the original premise of your post?

 

[Skull Pilot]

Bloomberg.com: News

Obama says he would impose oil windfall profits tax | Reuters

Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Economy

Yes BHO doesn't like "excessive profit" by oil companies even though the margin of profit is only 8-10%

If oil companies can have "excessive profits" can't all companies have excessive profits as well?

Surely Wal-Mart's boon in the hard economic times is uncalled for and there should be a windfall tax on Wal-Mart to fund a retail stimulus check similar to the $1000 energy stimulus BHO wants to tax oil companies to fund.

 

[xsited1]

This is so silly. Bill O'Reilly, a major critic of oil profiteering, works for a company that regularly posts bigger profit margins than oil companies. The US already has one of the highest corporate tax rates, so we already have a windfall profits tax in place for all corporations. Now the Democrats want to divide corporations based on what they earn in the same way they divide people into neat little categories. Americans need to wake up.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

I wasn't aware that Obama was calling for a windfall profits tax.

Can you lead me to data that supports the original premise of your post?

And you claim you knew what Obama stood for?

 

[editec]

Bloomberg.com: News

Obama says he would impose oil windfall profits tax | Reuters

Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Economy

Yes BHO doesn't like "excessive profit" by oil companies even though the margin of profit is only 8-10%

If oil companies can have "excessive profits" can't all companies have excessive profits as well?

Surely Wal-Mart's boon in the hard economic times is uncalled for and there should be a windfall tax on Wal-Mart to fund a retail stimulus check similar to the $1000 energy stimulus BHO wants to tax oil companies to fund.

Thank you Skull.

Windfall profits taxes are bad idea in my opinion.

Oil companies have to plan decades in advance to bring oil to market.

They need to have cash on hand to make that happen.

I'm guessing if the oil companies had their way, they'd elect for reasonable prices consistently over time. But sicne that isn't our world or thiers, they need to make money in good times to carry them thorough lean times

Plus the oil companies, as I understand it, don't really control the price of oil world wide.

 

[NOBama]

And you claim you knew what Obama stood for?

That would be impossible since Obama doesn’t even know what he stands for. I seem to remember the pundits reporting (not too long ago) that he had called his campaign advisors to instruct them to devise a new and improved economic plan to yak about on the campaign trail.

That left me with the sense that Obama won’t really be running the country, rather the people he surrounds himself will be. He’ll just be a figurehead reporting those decisions after the fact. That’s probably not a bad thing in this case, given his overall lack of experience.

 

[Care4all]

We all know BHO does not like it when a company makes money at the expense of the people. He prposes a windfall tax on oil companies who post an 8-10% profit margin because he thinks they make too much money.

What about other companies that post near 10% profit in an economic downturn; aren't these companies getting rich on the backs of the people as well? Shouldn't these greedy exploitative companies be subject to a wind fall tax? After all how dare they show a profit in the worst economy since the depression? How dare these companies NOT ask for government bail out money?

Wal-Mart Flourishes as Economy Turns Sour - WSJ.com

On Thursday, after a week of bad news from retailers such as Best Buy Co. and Starbucks Corp., Wal-Mart said earnings for the third quarter rose 9.8% while sales rose 7.5%. At stores open at least a year, sales rose 3%, twice as much as a year before, and far better than nearly every other U.S. retailer.



Indeed, the downturn is increasing Wal-Mart's clout...

Even with unemployment rising, Wal-Mart said that it had hired 33,000 new employees in the 12 months prior to October. Its U.S. work force now stands at 1.45 million, making it an economic driver for millions of other jobs dependent on Wal-Mart.

It's obvious that Walmart is taking advantage of an economic crisis to boost its profits and Walmart has the absolute gall to hire people when unemployment is rising.

This is obviously worthy of a windfall tax.

fyi!
walmart net profit margin runs around 3.4%, last year it was running around 3.2%....they are NOT EVEN CLOSE to earning a 10% or above net profit margin....

the 3 corporations that i worked for over the years had a goal of achieving anywhere from 4%-6% in profit margin, in the retail/whole sale shoe industry.

Walmart earns less...3.4% because it is a 'discounter''....

 

[NOBama]

Perpetual and aggressive expansion has kept Wal-Mart from reaching Net Profit margins of 10% or more, not discounting. For example, over 3 of the past 5 years their Net Income has been near or above 10%. If they would stop expanding and pay down their debt, I think it would be a good thing for everybody, especially the small town economies they continue to decimate.

Wal-Mart financials

 

[Care4all]

Perpetual and aggressive expansion has kept Wal-Mart from reaching Net Profit margins of 10% or more, not discounting. For example, over 3 of the past 5 years their Net Income has been near or above 10%. If they would stop expanding and pay down their debt, I think it would be a good thing for everybody, especially the small town economies they continue to decimate.

Wal-Mart financials

you have to have an additive product or a necessity/commodity or a monopoly or duopoly or oligopoly, in order to make over a 10% profit margin imho....other than an occaisional anomaly...(had a leather ballet slipper flat with a bow once, that was cheap, 19.99, became hotter than a fired pistol and this single ballet flat, (in multiple colors) on its own, made my profitability for an entire year, even though i had at least another 150 different styles of shoes that i had also bought and had in stock to sell...and didn't make my profitability on....this one item, the ballet flat, made my planned profit margin figures for me....a fluke, a FAD....where something is selling so quickly, where you get your money for it from the customers buying it, before your payment is even due to the vendor/the manufacturer who you bought it from yet)

True capitalism with competition in the free market SHOULD keep profit margins at a reasonable level and not at windfall levels...in general...in my opinion.

 

[Turboswede]

There are very few things I “Hate” and Wal-Mart is one of them. I hate them like a conservative hates Obama, I hate their treatment of workers, I hate their business model, I hate their treatment of suppliers, I could go on and on an on BUT, I do not think they should face a windfall profits tax as a windfall tax should only kick in where there is a clear failure for the market to self regulate.

Wal-Mart is not a Monopoly as there are other discount stores, (some of which employ union members and still generate a profit). Sam’s-Club is #2 in the warehouse store game and Wal-Mart will find it increasingly difficult to continue their model of growth as the US market is near full saturation (my Suburb of 10,000 has 3 Wal-Mart’s with a 5 minute drive) and international expansion is almost impossible (with real labor laws).

Wal-Mart has looked at US Securities, Labor and Tax law and has developed the ultimate growth business model but without thinking about long term sustainability. Over the next 2-3 years I suspect Wal-Mart will begin to implode as it finds there are no new worlds to conquer.

 

[Care4all]

There are very few things I “Hate” and Wal-Mart is one of them. I hate them like a conservative hates Obama, I hate their treatment of workers, I hate their business model, I hate their treatment of suppliers, I could go on and on an on BUT, I do not think they should face a windfall profits tax as a windfall tax should only kick in where there is a clear failure for the market to self regulate.

Wal-Mart is not a Monopoly as there are other discount stores, (some of which employ union members and still generate a profit). Sam’s-Club is #2 in the warehouse store game and Wal-Mart will find it increasingly difficult to continue their model of growth as the US market is near full saturation (my Suburb of 10,000 has 3 Wal-Mart’s with a 5 minute drive) and international expansion is almost impossible (with real labor laws).

Wal-Mart has looked at US Securities, Labor and Tax law and has developed the ultimate growth business model but without thinking about long term sustainability. Over the next 2-3 years I suspect Wal-Mart will begin to implode as it finds there are no new worlds to conquer.

there are a FEW other discount stores left, their next goal would be to wipe out what competition is left....kmart, target, circuit city, etc.... and also to add food to the majority of their stores....basically i think they have a few "plays" left before hitting the wall....

I do not have as many adverse feelings towards them as i did, after i learned what kind of profit margin they were earning...3.4%...that's modest, not gouging in any way so, they get kudos for that....imo. In other words, they are passing the savings they get from using the cheap china labor on to the consumer...

many corps don't always do that and start with higher initial mark ups on their cheaper, imported goods....while keeping margins lower on their american made goods so that their retails are not too high, out of the mass customer's reach...

walmart seems to have a business strategy of pricing their goods low from the beginning and not reaching for higher markups....this helps them wipe out their competition quicker i would suppose....and all part of their strategy perhaps???

Of course coupled with this, they pay their employees the least amount possible as well, to keep their products cheap, to run their competitors out of business....and we know it is the tax payer that picks up the medical bill for these workers of theirs without healthcare via our taxes, or food stamps that they may qualify for because their salaries are so minimal.....

Walmart is our largest employer in the US now..... that's hard to swallow.

care

 

[Paulie]

That left me with the sense that Obama won’t really be running the country, rather the people he surrounds himself will be. He’ll just be a figurehead reporting those decisions after the fact. That’s probably not a bad thing in this case, given his overall lack of experience.

There is no president, at least in recent memory, who was anything more than a figurehead.

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

Wal-Mart is not a Monopoly as there are other discount stores, (some of which employ union members and still generate a profit). Sam’s-Club is #2 in the warehouse store game and Wal-Mart will find it increasingly difficult to continue their model of growth as the US market is near full saturation

somehow I don't think sam's club is going to be putting walmart out of business anytime soon

call it a hunch

 

[Turboswede]

somehow I don't think sam's club is going to be putting walmart out of business anytime soon

call it a hunch

LOL....

I ment that Costco is #1, I know Sam's is owned by Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, get it

Just another example of why IM'ng will never replace talking face to face

 

[Paulie]

LOL....

I ment that Costco is #1, I know Sam's is owned by Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, get it

Just another example of why IM'ng will never replace talking face to face

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure

 

[matty]

...did that tax die?

 

[Mr. H.]

The original "Windfall Profits Tax" was neither a tax nor was it based on profits. It was a direct conficsation of personal property. This was a manifstation of the Carter administration.

 

[Mr. H.]

...did that tax die?

It didn't exactly "die". It eventually phased out due to its original mandate. The price of oil fell below a point at which the formula netted zero revenues for the government.

What is more important is the fact that this "tax" sapped enough money from the revenue stream of domestic oil companies so as to reduce U.S. production, thereby making us even more dependent on foreign sources.

 

[Polk]

This is so silly. Bill O'Reilly, a major critic of oil profiteering, works for a company that regularly posts bigger profit margins than oil companies. The US already has one of the highest corporate tax rates, so we already have a windfall profits tax in place for all corporations. Now the Democrats want to divide corporations based on what they earn in the same way they divide people into neat little categories. Americans need to wake up.

The United States doesn't have one of the highest corporate tax rates. We have one of the highest on paper, but after accounting for the massive amounts of deductions and exemptions available, most American firms pay very little in taxes, if any.