U.S. Corporations Paying No Taxes

I know this is probably old news for a lot of us, but if I get one person to realize this for the first time, I've achieved what I want.  If you are not aware, between 2008 and 2010, thirty large and wealthy American Corporations paid zero income tax.  As you read this post, think about how much income tax you paid this year.

"(Reuters) - Thirty large and profitable U.S. corporations paid no income taxes in 2008 through 2010, said a study on Thursday that arrives as Congress faces rising demands for tax reform, but seems unable or unwilling to act.

Pepco Holdings, a Washington, D.C.-area power company, had the lowest effective tax rate, at negative 57.6 percent, among the 280 Fortune 500 companies studied.

The statutory U.S. corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, but over the 2008-2010 period, very few of the companies studied paid it, said the report.  The average effective tax rate for the companies over the period was 18.5 percent, said Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, both think tanks."

 From the actual report itself (.pdf file), the following thirty companies paid ZERO income tax, as well as receiving millions...oh wait, I meant billions in tax rebates from the government.

(1) Pepco Holdings (2) General Electric (3) Paccar (4) PG&E Corporation (5) Computer Sciences (6) NiSource (7) CenterPoint Energy (8) Tenet Healthcare (9) Atmos Energy (10) Integrys Energy Group (11) American Electric Power (12) Con-way (13) Ryder System (14) Baxter International (15) Wisconsin Energy (16) Duke Energy (17) DuPont (18) Consolidated Edison (19) Verizon Communications (20) Interpublic Group (21) CMS Energy (22) NextEra Energy (23) Navistar International (24) Boeing (25) Wells Fargo (26) El Paso (27) Mattel (28) Honeywell International (29) DTE Energy (30) Corning

But what does it all mean?  Taking a closer look at these companies shows us the following industries.

- 14 Energy / Utility Companies
- 3 Transportation Companies
- 2 Healthcare Companies
- 2 Conglomerates
- Remaining in Chemicals, Communications, Advertising, Aerospace, Defense, Banking, Finance, and Toys

Do you think its any coincidence that there are so many energy companies on this list?  How about healthcare?  How about these giant conglomerates, like G.E. that are on this list?  And it's more than just these companies paying zero income tax, they are actually receiving money from the government to the tune of billions of dollars.

Take G.E. for example.  In 2010, G.E. had a profit of 4.2 BILLION dollars.  The government gave them tax breaks to the tune of 3.3 BILLION dollars.  This gave them an effective tax rate of -76.6%.  Seem fair to you?  What was your tax rate?

How about an oil company?  In 2009, Exxon-Mobil had a profit of 2.5 BILLION dollars.  The government gave them tax breaks to the tune of 950 million dollars.  This gave them an effective tax rate of -38.3%.  Seem fair to you?  What was your tax rate?  How much were you paying per gallon of gasoline in 2009?  How much did that affect your life?

Oh I know!  How about the company that held our country at gunpoint?  In 2008, Goldman Sachs had a profit 4.9 BILLION dollars.  The government gave them tax breaks to the tune of 786 million dollars.  This gave them an effective tax rate of -16%.  Seem fair to you?  This doesn't even include the bailout funds.  Or all the foreclosed homes.

How could I forget about healthcare!  In 2009, the for profit healthcare group Tenet Healthcare had a profit of 193 million dollars.  The government gave them tax breaks to the tune of 53 million dollars.  Tax rate of -27.3% anyone?  Tenet operates 139 for profit health centers in the United States.  They've been involved in psychiatric fraud, medicare fraud, unnecessary heart surgery scandal, and Hurricane Katrina scandal.  So it seems only fair that they receive money from the government.

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See where I'm going with this?  How is it that the rest of us, the 99%, have to see our jobs destroyed (sorry, I meant, "Management wanted to curtail redundancies in the human resources area, so many people are no longer viable members of the workforce" - thanks George Carlin), our pensions destroyed, our retirement destroyed, and then our social safety nets destroyed?  And then watch as that money, OUR tax money, given away to the 1%?  This is purely and simply reverse Robin Hood!

This is why people are fed up.  This is why people are protesting.  The 99% are slowly losing everything they've worked so hard for, while the 1% are bleeding this country dry all in the name of their corporate profits and CEO pay.  You want healthcare?  Sorry, government tax break for the corporate 1%.  You want affordable gasoline?  Sorry, government tax break for the corporate 1%.  You want to heat your home in the winter?  Sorry, you have to go broke so the government can give its tax breaks for the corporate 1%.  You want your labor to be valued by forming a union?  You know, the same labor that created this wealth?  Sorry, aint happening.

And so it goes.  On, and on, and on, and on...


It's infuriating.  If you have time, read the report, however I warn you its 71 pages of infuriating material.  I will blog about parts of this report more.

Finally, to end this post...

Corporations will say rightly that the loopholes that let them slash their taxes were perfectly legal, the report said.

"But that does not mean that low-tax corporations bear no responsibility ... The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support," the report said.

 Don't let these people lie anymore.  Don't believe anything they say anymore.