Many Fortune 500 Firms Pay Less in Income Taxes Than You!!!

After reading the entire article, there was one sentence that not only jumped out but the reason that big money in politics is so bad for the average American:

Corporations will continue to lobby for ever-lower taxes -- and politicians will continue to cower to their demands, so these companies will fund their next reelection campaign.

Thanks to the most recent SCOTUS ruling about Citizens United, the amount of money in this 2012 race is obscene and you can expect those spending millions to get a candidate elected are going to want something in return.  Those who are wealthy can find the loopholes in the Tax Code to take care of their needs to pay less taxes.  It is the rest of us who are expected to make up the difference


When you read this article, your blood begins to boil at both parties who are protecting the wealthy at the expense of the Middle Class although now it seems to be a larger percentage of wealthy Republicans in the Senate who are protecting the wealthy corporations and their CEO's who make millions each year in salary and even more in bonuses in order to get Romney elected.  At the same time many Americans are trying to figure out how to fill up their gas tank, buy groceries, and pay their mortgage and utilities.  Now Senate Republicans are blocking the bill to keep student loan interest low.

This part of the article also jumps out when you eliminate the tax breaks that these corporations paying so little tax are using:

Eliminate these tax breaks, and the U.S. Treasury would be $473 billion richer today.  

Even worse, 134 of the 280 companies examined were content paying foreign taxes at a rate one-third higher than they paid in America. 

Miss the days of Reagan when both parties worked together for Americans.  Now we have jerks in both parties who want to score points for reelection and could care less about regular Americans.  Because of their selfish policies on both sides to benefit their donors, it has created this mess.  I used to challenge the thought of throw them all out but when you can only come up a percentage of people who you would keep, it is a sad state of affairs.

Now we also have Cong Cantor (R-VA) who is part of Young Guns using donations for Senate candidates like Lugar in IN.  Why?  What has happened to the Republican Party members of the House who are using contributions that were given for House members not for the Senate -- seems dishonest to take contributions for one group and then give the money to a different group.  It looks to have become a symptom of the Republican Party today with the establishment in charge.  Honesty has flown out the window.

If this doesn't make you mad, nothing will.  We have been sold down the river for campaign contributions on both sides from the wealthy who then want protected from higher taxes.  Disgusting!

Many Fortune 500 Firms Pay Less in Income Taxes Than You
By Adam J. Wiederman, The Motley Fool
Posted 2:19PM 05/07/12 

It's widely known that billionaire Warren Buffett and millionaire President Obama pay taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries, who make much less. 

This "inequality" led them to devise a plan to hike the minimum tax rate on the top 0.3% of taxpayers -- now referred to as "The Buffett Rule." 

But what's even more shocking is that American citizens collectively pay higher income tax rates than General Electric, Boeing, DuPont, and countless other companies. 

Tiny Tax rates for Trillionaires

A recent study examined 280 of the largest companies in America and the taxes they paid in 2008, 2009, and 2010. All were Fortune 500 companies. And all were profitable. In fact, their pre-tax profit over that period totaled $1.4 trillion. 

Yet a whopping 25% of them paid federal taxes at a rate of less than 10% (compared to the standard 35% corporate tax rate). And 30 of these companies paid absolutely no income tax on their profits between 2008 and 2010. 

The 78 companies that enjoyed at least one year of paying no income tax had profits equaling $156 billion. 

Yet instead of the $55 billion in tax revenue you'd assume the government would have received (at the 35% corporate rate), these companies (all of which -- again -- were profitable) received refund checks from the government totaling $21.8 billion. 

We're talking corporate giants ranging from Duke Energy and Eli Lilly to ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs. 

(snip)

It Affects All of Us 

The study goes on to point out that the prevalence of these "corporate tax dodgers" means paying more for (or getting less of) government-funded projects. It means unfairness in corporate competition. It means struggling state governments. 

And it means angry citizens who are upset and disillusioned by (not to mention downright angry with) their elected officials and the government these officials are entrusted to run. 

So how was this possible? An obvious answer is the size of the tax code. SmartMoney recently noted that the U.S. tax code now contains more than four times the number of words that Shakespeare left behind across all of his works. 

Yet it's full of loopholes -- loopholes that legally permit even a tech giant such as Apple to sidestep billions of dollars in taxes. 

A recent article in The New York Times explained how Apple avoids state taxes in California by setting up additional corporate offices in Nevada (which has no state income tax).
It also pointed out an elaborate technique like the "Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich" trick, whereby Apple sends profits through Irish subsidiaries to subsidiaries in the Netherlands to other subsidiaries in the Caribbean. This all lets Apple trim its U.S. federal tax bill. 

A former Treasury economist calculated that, without these strategies, Apple's tax bill would have been $5.7 billion instead of the $3.3 billion it actually paid. 

But Apple's not alone. Countless other companies employ similar methods. And it's completely legal.   

(snip)

Excerpt:  Read More at the Daily Finance