Top ten tax avoiders
The Fox pundits keep saying that corporate taxes are stifling the creation of jobs. I have a question for for them: can you get lower than zero?
Turns out you can! Not only did many of America’s most profitable corporations pay tiny amounts in taxes, but they also got refunds back from the government (refunds defined as negative income tax liability). We are basically subsidizing businesses that are already successful – “free market”indeed.
Read this list of Top Ten Tax Avoiders below, and think about the closed schools, struggling students, empty firehouses, and the unemployed workers dreading the day their benefits run out. It doesn’t need to be this way.
1) ExxonMobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings. [Note: Our post last April reported that ExxonMobil was owed $46 million by the IRS.]
2) Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion.
3) Over the past five years, while General Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from the IRS.
4) Chevron received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.
5) Boeing, which received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon to build 179 airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year.
6) Valero Energy, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS and, over the past three years, it received a $134 million tax break from the oil and gas manufacturing tax deduction.
7) Goldman Sachs in 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department.
8 ) Citigroup last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury.
9) ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2007 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction.
10) Over the past five years, Carnival Cruise Lines made more than $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent.
(h/t @BernieSanders and @MotherJones)
Ye gods! what a horrorshow!
Thanks for the reporting!
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It seems if the corporations paid their fair share of taxes then we would not be in the financial mess we are in….how come our representatives keep giving these guys breaks and they are not even paying taxes….oh I get it tax breaks = campaign contributions…..sounds like a paying the vig to me…..No sounds like Fraud…..what do you think?
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EFICRITES
CUT SPENDING
WHERE? TOP DOWN? Oh! No!
RAISE REVNEUE? NO NO NO OUR PALS HAVE ALL THE CASH
DON’T YOU REALIZE THEIR MILLIONS GOT US ELECTED IN 2010? IS YOU DUMB?
Fix Social Security. Take from Seniors. But, the elderly need our help. Why not get those you enriched greatly over past 30 years to pay a FAIR share? They do? Say it again I did not hear it.
120,000,000 workers pay 6.2% of Total Income. The few “luckie duckies” making ten million pay 1%.
The more “luckie duckie”billionaire pays 1/10th of 1%
FAIR? Can any reasonable person call that FAIR? No!
Tax Wealth? What do you think created jobs? Sho nuff Sambo!
Since 1980 three so-called Conservative Presidents created an average of 99,000 net new jobs per month over 20 years. Just enough to cover new entries in the work force.
President Carter + President Lord William Of Hope created 222,000 per month.
222.000 is sho better than 99.000. Si Senor!
It is time we stopped this game playing. This partisan us versus them. This if you disagree with me you are evil I is good. This constant fabrication of conditions by pathological liars as druggie, Newt, Michele, Sarah. Beck. Etc.
Go back to Fairness Doctrine.
Assure 35%Tax rate is collected from Corporations
Tax Gambling at 40% not 15%.
Tax Incomes one million up at 40%.
Tax all income at 6.2% in Payroll Tax..he very very rich “luckie duckies” created few new businesses and jobs
From 2000-2009 200,000 new millionaires were created.
How many new industries. Many in China!.
How many new jobs? Many in China,. In fact, 2,.300,000 of ours went to China.
In America, 31,000 net new jobs were created. The worst record since Republican Hoover
Here is what you Republicans inherited from Lord Clinton and what you did with those jewels
to turn them into junk You sir! You Mr. Republican. You mister Wall Street Casino of America.
BRAG ON THIS RECORD 2001-2009. spin it. Reinvent it. Numbers are accurate. Prove me wrong.
Numbers rounded
Clinton left Bush an 1800B Budget
Bush Left Obama a 3500 Budget
Clinton left Bush a 250B Surplus as far as the eye can see
Bush left Obama 1400B Deficit as far as the eye can see
Clinton left Bush a 5700B of Debt
Bush left Obama 11,800B of Debt
Clinton left Bush a 237,000 net new jobs created per month
Bush left Obama a 31,000 lowest since Hoover.
Clinton left Bush 17 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Bush left Obama 7 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Clinton left Bush a 10,800 Dow
Bush left Obama an 8028 Dow
Clinton left Bush Peace on Earth Good Will From Most Men
Bush left Obama Hell on Earth Two disastrous wars. Enmity of 1500 Million Muslims
Clinton left Bush a President most highly rated of any peacetime President in Asia, Africa, Europe.
Bush left Obama the most hated President in history
Bush left Obama an Housing Tsunami and Financial Volcano
Bush left Obama, in 2008, an 8500B Bail out commitment Yes! 8500 not just 700
Bush left Obama his Takeover of Fannie/Freddie, AIG, and first bailout of Chrysler
clarence swinney–political historian–lifeaholics of america burlington nc
author-Lifeaholic–Life story of Workaholic failure to Lifeaholic success
Best seller list at haw river gazette population 200 (growing)
cCOMMENTS WELCOME CSWINNEY2@TRIAD.RR.COM
..
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The problem is that job creation does not create American jobs. It is easier for a person in India to get a job (as an H1-B contractor) than for a new college graduate from the large state university 10 miles down the road, and for people with significant education who are older than 50. In CA Jerry Brown got it right in refusing to give tax breaks to companies that create the jobs out of state. He seems to be the first public official willing to go near the question of who is getting the jobs. What’s the point of job creation if all the high tech and finance corporate jobs go to people from India and all the academic research jobs go to people from China? Stop carte blanche tax cuts – issue tax breaks only in return for demonstrated proof that unemployed local workers were hired.
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Campus recruiting has increased in second tier universities in India while Americans are graduating from college without jobs. Then employers have the audacity to claim that they have to go abroad to find the best and the brightest and that Americans don’t have useful skills. You cannot tell me that Americans do not have the skills to develop or test software.
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Big banks and big corporations have turned our economy into a massive con game. l’m fighting back: I am refusing to pay my credit card bills to the big banks that got bail outs. If everyone quit paying them, they would shrink in size and our economy would prosper, with more jobs for more people.
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The big corporations don’t seem to have an issue raising money by selling bonds, big bank loans. Small business loans aren’t getting approved that’s why so many are looking to business cash advances to leverage their credit card receipts.
Remember:
Small business owners in America are the people who are creating two out of three jobs here in America. These are also the people especially in today’s economic environment that are being frowned upon by banks that originate traditional small business loans. Banks will oftenly decline these small business owners, thus more unemployment.
Business Loans
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