Recently, we discussed that almost 50 percent of Americans pay no federal taxes. Now, we can add General Electric to that list. While the company made an estimated $10.0 million globally, it paid zero taxes last year through deductions and adjustments.
GE claimed $408 million in losses in the United States while tying profits to foreign holdings. GE reported an actual U.S. federal income tax rate of negative 10.5%. and we allowed to add a “tax benefit” of $1.1 billion to offset reported earnings.
It will however pay other governments around the world almost $23 billion in taxes. I guess they do not allow quite so many creative tax options.
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Any more questions about who’s screwing who?
Corporations have no conscience. A legal fiction that functions as a shield against personal liability will be and is being abused by sociopaths who do not have the interests of Americans at heart. Just shareholders. Numbers being met for other numbered accounts who also have no conscience.
Demand an end to corporate participation in the legislative process.
Put sociopaths back on the leash.
Start by making them pay their fair share of taxes and removing the ability to contribute to political campaigns by corporations in toto.
Paying taxes are simply the cost of doing businesses, GE. Or it is when you aren’t bribing the legislature into letting you slide, you amoral scumbags.
GE accounting was described by some WSJ investigators as being the type AIG and Madoff used. Seriously.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/09/getting-caught-is-only-no-no.html
Some people have no conscience and then you have them raised and become known as Columbine.
As Buddha say: “Corporations have no conscience.”
I can see a paraboloid in the two maybe no distinction of either.
A lack of conscience is the key defining characteristic of sociopathy. We have criminal laws to punish sociopathic individuals and keep them segregated from society once they prove a danger. As mespo posited, “How can what is prohibited in the specific be permitted in aggregate?” The simple answer is we can’t. To allow corporations to act without restraint is inviting the same kind of Constitutional and financial disaster one invites by giving a pyromaniac a BIC and a gallon of gas.
Where are the Tea Baggers to protest this outrage? Since most of them don’t even realize that they are paying the lowest taxes in about 60 years, this latest announcement that GE paid no taxes will slip on by them and Fox News.
1. We have a corporatist government that is controlling almost every aspect of our lives.
2. This control is leveraged through policy, regulation, taxation and contracts to benefit all kinds of corporate interests.
3. In exchange for favorable treatment and government-created demand, corporations pay for elections and access to those in power.
This cycle will not end until government is radically reduced in power and scale.
GE spends tens of millions a year in lobbying efforts, more than any other company. Not only does tax policy become structured to favor firms like GE, but national economic and energy policy is shaped to benefit them as well. The largest beneficiary of Cap & Trade legislation will be new tax revenues to the US government. The second largest beneficiary will be GE, a firm which will profit immensely from required infrastructure investments and carbon credit trading mandated by government.
rafflaw and puzzling said it all!
America has the highest average corporate tax rate in the world (along with Japan). Companies are somehow “immoral” for trying to lessen their tax liability? Am I immoral for taking a mortgage interest dedudction, or a charitable contribution deduction, or the dozens of deductions the federal government allows and I take advantage of?
Paying higher taxes is hardly a measure of morality. And we should hope so given that about half of all Americans pay no income taxes at all. (Yet, ironically it is the other half that are “immoral” for not wanting to pay even more!)
Here’s a solution: why don’t we lower the corporate tax rates to compete with other countries, tearing down the incentives for corporations to try steer their profits into their foreign entities?
Nah, let’s just haul these executives before another fucking Congressional hearing and wag our fingers at them! That solves everything.
“GE claimed $408 million in losses in the United States while tying profits to foreign holdings. ”
“It will however pay other governments around the world almost $23 billion in taxes. ”
“3. In exchange for favorable treatment and government-created demand, corporations pay for elections and access to those in power.
This cycle will not end until government is radically reduced in power and scale.”
This cycle will not end until our ‘Government’ remembers who they are and wakes up to the fleecing that is being visited upon those who they are supposed to represent and protect…
Wotsy,
Would you care to share some of that magical shit your doing or smoking? Taxes are a cost of doing business. Call them tariffs if you import them. They are still a Tax which will in the corporates minds eye raise the prices…..
Would you care to share some of that magical shit your doing or smoking?
I’m in, sign me up
Never mind, my bad, I got my own shit.
AY,
“Would you care to share some of that magical shit your doing or smoking?”
hahahahahhaha!
uh….ok, I think it’s called trust, which is being really really really taxed right now.
I’m not against taxes I just think everyone should partake…especially the GE’s of the woild.
Do you misspell my name on purpose? ’cause it’s not hurting me but my cat is getting really pissed….
We must forgive GE for not paying taxes–after all…they’ve brought so many good things to life for us!
to AY…
“Taxes are a cost of doing business.”
apparently not for some corporations…
Business is not my forte’ but even I can see the disparity that is being forced. As a single working person here I don’t get to ‘ply my trade’ globally, why should I subsidize those that do?
Nice touch Mrs. Elaine
Bdaman:
I was just thinking about you. I forayed into the world of oriental spice. I made a carrot side last night with Chinese Five Spice powder. That stuff is incredible.
I’m curious to know how you did the carrots, they are one of my daughters favorite.
I like to take a Riesling or Chenin Blanc honey reduction and cook my carrots. It goes well with anything blackened. The spicy hot with the sweet of the carrots is um um good backed with the wine to cleanse the pallet.
It’s almost too simple. I just peeled and cross-cut 5 of them into about equal lengths. I popped them into a casserole dish and mixed in some softened unsalted butter and about a half-teaspoon of 5 spice powder and then an equal amount of salt to get the moisture out. Into the oven they went at about 375 for 30 minutes. They were great!
.
Bdaman:
That sounds other worldly too!
@AY and Mr. Jarvis,
You know, so soon we forget how it was corporations who showed up in Washington in their jets etc. with hands outstretched looking for ‘assistance’. A lot of ‘private business’ industries are built with and get help from public monies for infrastructure etc…and then start screaming bloody murder when people expect them to give back in a less than mercenary manner. That’s not good business.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1044259_automakers-request-more-subsidies-for-plug-ins-evs-and-infrastructure
Watza,
You mean someone has to pay taxes and its not going to be the dear corporations.
Woosty: if you are looking for me to defend corporate welfare, you are barking up the wrong tree.
But it is a special kind of naive to expect ANYONE whether invidual or corporation to pay taxes if they don’t have to. I certainly try to minimize my tax liabilty.
Don’t you?
Wayne,
“But it is a special kind of naive to expect ANYONE whether invidual or corporation to pay taxes if they don’t have to.”
I agree. That was my point in saying that our Gov. needs to remember who they are there for…it’s not Corporate Gollums that voted them in although maybe that is the next ripe step.
I never said I wasn’t naive…but that’s not an invitation either.
Supposedly that “47% don’t pay taxes” is a myth.
i don’t have a link but i do remember warren buffet saying something a few years ago about his secretary payed more taxes than he did.
Joanne,
At the very best it is misleading as they pay payroll taxes, FICA, etc.
As I said on another thread, corporations paid 30% of the total revenue collected in the 70′s and 7% now – I’m not against them trying to reduce their liability, but they’ve corrupted and gamed the system to an untenable degree…
Boo Hoo, my vid got pulled?
well how about this one???