I’ve posted about it before in blog and video but I’m just reminding y’all: a lot of corporations don’t pay any income taxes… Now, I think no one should be paying taxes on money they earn cuz that’s stupid (you should be taxed on what you spend, not earn) but thats everyone. Not special breaks for some.
The corporate tax rate is 35%. But an examination of 280 of the nation’s largest corporations suggests that many aren’t paying anything close to that.
The real tax rate paid by a slew of major corporations averages closer to 18.5%, according to a study released Thursday by two liberal tax research groups.
The report issued by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy paints the corporate tax code as wildly inefficient, filled with loopholes and subject to the influence of lobbyists who carve out special provisions for the companies they represent.
The study looked at 280 companies in the Fortune 500 that were profitable for all three years between 2008 and 2010.
The results: 111 companies paid effective tax rates of less than 17.5% over the three-year period; 98 paid a rate between 17.5% and 30%; and 71 paid more than 30%.
The average rate? 18.5%.
Some companies paid zero. And 30 actually owed less than nothing in income taxes over the three years.
Lower the tax rate and close the loopholes. Problem solved.