Giant corporations that paid NO taxes last year . . . .

[{~_~}]

So, guess who has to make up for the taxes needed for education,
healthcare, infrastructure . . . .

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16 Giant Corporations That Have Basically Stopped Paying Taxes -- While
Also Cutting Jobs!


March 18, 2013

The brackets are set for the big dance — the dance around tax
responsibility. Most of the teams are in the bottom bracket. In this
league, the lowest score wins.

Outside the stadium our nation's kids and seniors and low-income mothers
may be dealing with food and housing cuts, but on the corporate playing
floor new low-tax records are being set again this year. Just as this is
a golden age for sports, this is also, as noted by the New York Times,
"a golden age for corporate profits."

Corporations have simply stopped paying their taxes, perhaps using the
2008 recession as an excuse to plead hardship, but then never restoring
their tax obligations when business got better. The facts are
indisputable. For over 20 years, from 1987 to 2008, corporations paid an
average of 22.5% in federal taxes. Since the recession, this has
dropped to 10% -- even though their profits have doubled in less than
ten years.

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Pay Up Now just completed a compilation of corporate tax payments over
the past five years, using SEC data as reported by the companies
themselves. The firms chosen are top-earners who have filed 10-K reports
through 2012. Their US Tax figures represent the five-year total of
"current" payments.

The 64 corporate teams paid just over 8% in taxes over the five-year period.


The Slink Sixteen

General Electric: The worst tax record over five years, with $81 billion
in profits and a $3 billion refund.

Boeing: In addition to receiving a refund despite $21.5 billion in
profits, the company ranked high in job cutting, underfunded pensions,
and contractor misconduct.

Exxon Mobil: Made by far the largest profits in the group, but paid
less than 1% in U.S. taxes, and yet received oil subsidies along with
their tax breaks. Unabashedly reports a 2012 "theoretical tax" of over
$27 billion, almost 90% of its total income tax expense. The company was
also near the top in contractor misconduct.

Verizon: Second worst tax record, with a refund despite $48 billion in
profits.
^^^^^^^

Kraft Foods: Received a refund from the public despite $13.5 billion in
profits. Also a leading job-cutter.

Citigroup: One of the five big banks who are estimated to get a
bailout/refund [14] from the American public amounting to three cents
from every tax dollar.

Dow Chemical: Received a refund despite almost $10 billion in profits.

IBM: Paid less than 3% in taxes while ranking as one of the leading job
cutters [9], and near the top in contractor misconduct.

Chevron: In addition to a meager 4.3% tax rate and a share of oil
subsidies, the company has been the main beneficiary of tax-exempt
government bonds.

FedEx: The company paid less than 5% in federal taxes while relying on
the publicly-funded Post Office to deliver thirty percent of its ground
packages.

Honeywell: Less than 6% in taxes, a leading job cutter, near the top in
instances of contractor misconduct, and run by the "Fix the Debt" CEO
with the largest pension fund.
- An 8% tax rate, a leader in job cuts and underfunded pensions, and in
the top 20 of contractor misconduct instances.
- Notable for an 8.4% tax rate, job cuts, offshore holdings [18], and
the top U.S. spot on the contractor misconduct dollar list.

Apple: Where to begin?
- Avoiding federal taxes, avoiding state taxes, hiding overseas
earnings, engaging in intellectual property schemes, using the "Double
Irish" to transfer profits from Europe to Bermuda, and underpaying its
store workers despite conducting most of itsproduct and research
development in the United States.

Pfizer: One of the leaders in stockpiling untaxed profits overseas, and
right behind Merck in contractor misconduct dollars.

Google: A master at the "Double Irish" revenue shift to Bermuda tax
havens, while using tax loopholes to bring a lot of the money back to
the U.S. without paying taxes on it. Recognized as one of the world's
biggest tax avoiders.

Microsoft: Named as one of the biggest offshore hoarders while using tax
strategies to bring much of their untaxed money back to the U.S., where
it also avoids state taxes.


The Fouling Four

GE, Boeing, Exxon, and Apple. Merck almost crashed the party, but the
competition was too stiff.

The Winner?

No one wins this game. In a financial sense they do, but the gains are
outweighed by the greed and irresponsibility of tax avoidance.

All these companies, after using our infrastructure and technology and
research facilities and higher education and national defense to build
incomparably successful businesses, are now doing everything in their
power to avoid paying anything back, while instead using a carefully
manipulated set of "legal" business writeoffs and exemptions and
loopholes to cut their tax bills to almost nothing. And all the while
they rant about the unfairness of the U.S. tax code.

The real madness is that human beings are suffering because of the tax
games corporations play.