From Stark
The New York Times reports that corporate giant GE managed to avoid any payment of U.S. taxes for 2010, despite a very good year for profits.
Among the tax breaks that benefit GE are “green energy credits” for production of wind turbines.
On my drive to Indiana last summer, I was amazed at the proliferation of wind turbines across the county.
President Obama recently named GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, as his liaison to the business community.
So much for the “corporate taxes are too high” meme. Exxon paid no US taxes, and BP got a tax credit.
Small business is the largest sector for employment. Big business get breaks based off their ability to “lobby/payoff” the elected officials, we that own small business can’t pay and play as they do. Out tax rates are way too high, and compaines like GE, and those that FRIDAY points out above, are too low.
It depends on how you define small. I have looked at some figures from the BLS- looking at private sector employment, 50% of employees work for companies with about 200 people or less. So if 200 employees is not small, then more people are employed by larger firms- small business is only the largest sector of private firm employment if small is defined as less than 1000 employees. The other thing that I encountered looking at these data are the differences in volatility (meaning here the life expectancy of the company, the rate of both hiring growth and rate of layoffs): The larger firms seem to be less volatile (there are notable exceptions- WAMU turned out to be pretty volatile)- so they can make a more stable and predictible contribution to the economy. The other side of the coin is that often important innovations come from small companies (although larger firms have more resources they can use for R&D), and they also fill important niches in the local levels. One can thus make a decent argument that the tax incentives for the larger companies are better justified in that they are a “sure bet” for a continued return in the form of employment and production. There is a chicken-and-egg aspect- you could also speculate that the tax breaks are what help keep them stable, but I don’t think that holds water.
If you demand that Obama promotes green power and he uses tax credits, it is disingenuous to then complain when a company uses those tax credits.
Just another subsidy to prop and green industry that could not stand on its own two feet without our green.
Like the airline industry.
The government should quit using the tax code to promote behavior that special interests (by which I mean people opposed to freedom who wish to alter the behavior of others to suit their own ends) by businesses and individuals altogether.
That, combined with lower corporate tax rates, will reduce corporate tax-avoidance behavior, and for starters, result in the repatriation of a trillion or so in assets sequestered offshore.
Besides tax benefits, there are also subsidies to consider.
Politifact just reported that big oil companies “swimming in profits” are still enjoying big subsidies on their deep-water leases. Here are a couple of quotes:
“Special lower royalty rates granted on leases issued in the deep water areas of the Gulf of Mexico from 1996-2000 could result in $21 billion to $53 billion in lost revenue to the federal government.”
“Congressional Republicans generally support continuing subsidies for oil companies, and oppose legislation introduced in February to eliminate $5 billion in subsidies.”
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/mar/24/dennis-kucinich/rep-dennis-kucinich-says-faulty-law-blame-oil-comp/
If you leave a theif alone,
he’ll return all the money he’s stolen!
Offers Onkels.
If public policy demands tax revenue,
and We The People spend that revenue to guide society to its best and highest uses,
the rights of no one are impinged.
In fact it’s our responsibility to use that money wisely to help guide our society and everyone in it.
There’s still plenty of disposable income for Freedom Loving Citizens to do with as they please.
Taxes are a tiny part of the costs of doing business yet they form the basis for all kinds of evasion – simply outta principle!
Stamp your feet and repeat,
I won’t won’t I won’t!
Crony capitalism means when you know people in high places you get the breaks!
You all know how it works, you help your friends get rich and you will always be able to count on them when you run for re-election!
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!