Bill Linehan, Naples
More of the same
The Citizens for Tax Justice published the tax rates (IRS figures) of 280 of the Fortune 500 companies from 2008-10.
The effective tax rate of these corporations wasn't 35 percent as the corporatists whine about, but 18.5 percent.
Thirty of these large corporations earned a combined profit of $206 billion and paid zero taxes. That's zero as in nil, zip, nada.
So what is Wall Street's Cody Willard's answer to this corporate welfare? What is the plutocrat's answer to the fact that the 35 percent corporate tax rate is the lowest (except for a 34 percent rate from 1988 to 1992) since 1941? Wall Street's lackey wants to cut corporate taxes from 35 percent to 28 percent.
When corporate criminals destroyed the economy, hiding $60 trillion of derivative debt from stockholders, the Securities Exchange Commission and rating companies, neither former President George W. Bush nor President Barack Obama put anyone in jail.
Far worse, Willard's deregulation will send his fellow corporate predators back to their lives of crime.
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Comments » 10
gentleIbis writes:
Your letter describes very well how the metamorphisis of the stock market is
continuing to slow down growth and negatively impact our economy as well as the conceit that the corporate tax rate is responsible.
Derivates and hedge funds drain investment dollars away from activites that can and do create jobs and keep those investment dollars as well as any profit derived circulating among the top tier of investors. They have become major impediment to the 'trickle down' theory working as its proponents advertize.
Supporting lowering the corporate tax rate has become part of the political decit the gop is playing with the economy. They had the chance a few weeks ago to begin the process of lowering the rate and making the changes revenue neutral but voted against the measure.
The gop has firmly adopted a strategy of doing as much economic damage as possible and stonewalling any changes, even those they themselves are calling for so they can win an election and put big business and the stock market in charge.
Big business is not in any trouble and they don't need a free ride. CEO salaries are up, profits are up and billions are being poured into super PACs. Enough with the poor mouth.
Unless you're one of the fortunate few, electing Mitt Romney will be an economic and social disaster. He will not stand up to any of it and will be perfectly pleased to see millions of Americans plunged into poverty and illness if it makes his investors and himself richer.
colinkelly2 writes:
I agree. The GOP is doing great economic damage. Look how President Obama has done nothing to prevent the abuses of derivative trading in his 3 and a half years in office. That darn GOP!
pmz writes:
How long have there been police?
And yet, there is still crime.
We should fire them all.
robinstp writes:
Great letter, Bill! Trickle down economics is a myth created by the rich to enable them to become even richer. Jobs and an expanding economy are really created by consumer demand. I think most Americans are beginning to realize this.
pmz writes:
The only difference between the wealthy and the poor is the sophistication of their gambling.
The great middle class merely creates wealth for them to gamble with.
Pragmatic1 writes:
Yep, that one legged Obama is having a hard time kicking butt on Wall Street.
It sure would be a lot easier if he had some help from the other leg.
ChiDem writes:
But if they avoid corporate taxes, income increases so the stockholders will pay tax on capital gains and dividends. So there is a bigger single taxation, not two smaller double taxations. The government manages to get blood one way or another. And then they spend it so wisely.
So your problem is that there is no double taxation on people that invest in America.
Duhhhhhhhhh. Think that might slow down growth, jobs and investment??
Or would you rather government get the money and pick winners and losers? Is that the "New American Dream"??? The old one appears gone.
pmz writes:
The "people who invest in America" are called workers and consumers.
Right now they are paying twice the tax rates of people who don't have to work (who are passing their unpaid bills forward to everybody's kids).
That's all a step back towards slavery.
pmz writes:
They've tried that in places like Afghanistan. The CEOs of that business are called "war lords". It hasn't worked out too well.
AmericasTrueRecoveryBeginsIn2016 writes:
Low effective tax rates are the result of loopholes, exemptions, exceptions, and deductions that corporations (and individuals) can take advantage of LEGALLY under the terms of the current tax code.
This is a fact that all of the whiners and wealth-bashers from across the political spectrum continue to overlook or ignore.
Simply raising tax rates (or even lowering them, for that matter, depending on which side of the argument you take) is worthless unless needed changes are made to the tax code to eliminate the loopholes, exemptions, exceptions, and deductions that create the low effective tax rates in the first place.
The question that really needs to be answered is why hasn't Congress, collectively, done anything about this problem?
The answer is simple: votes and campaign funding.
Both sides of the aisle stand to lose too much in potential votes and campaign funding from their patron corporations and special interest groups to make any meaningful or necessary changes to the tax code. So, instead, they and their more ardent and extremist supporters sit back and blame the opposition with their "lie, whine, and blame" talking points, and do nothing.
Nothing, that is, except to continue receiving the money and the votes they cherish more than doing the right thing.
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