Happy Tax Day!

[JBond]

 

[dbair1967]

 

[superpunk]

Happy day that we make this nation into a joke on corporate taxation, while half the country bellows that we couldn't possibly tax these guys any more - after they are the job creators!!!!!!!!!

http://thecontributor.com/economy/looking-cheats-corporate-tax-filings-descent-circles-hell

Citigroup, whose 2005 "Plutonomy Memo" said that "the World is dividing into two blocs - the Plutonomy and the rest," had 42 percent of its 2011-12 revenue in North America (almost all U.S.) but declared a $5 billion U.S. loss and a $28 billion foreign profit.

Pfizer had 40 percent of its 2011-12 revenues in the U.S., but declared almost $7 billion in U.S. losses to go along with $31 billion in foreign profits. After the SEC questioned Pfizer in 2012 about four straight years of U.S. losses despite large worldwide incomes, the company went ahead and declared a fifth straight U.S. loss.

Bank of America may be the worst. CEO Brian Moynihan once lamented that nobody understood "how much good" his employees do. But his company, with a whopping 82 percent of its 2011-12 revenue in the U.S., declared $7 billion in U.S. losses and $10 billion in foreign profits.

Circles of Duplicity and Disdain

This is where Dante might have seen the shadowy image of a human face on the body of a venomous barb-tailed dragon. These are companies with U.S.-declared 2011-12 incomes that appear to fall far short of a reasonable amount based on their usage of U.S. resources and privileges.

Abbott Labs had 42 percent of its sales in the U.S., but declared a loss in the U.S. along with $12 billion in foreign profits.
Baxter Labs had about 40 percent of its sales and assets in the U.S., but only 14 percent of its declared income.
Cisco had 50 percent of its sales in the U.S., but just 25 percent of its income.
Dell, with about a 50-50 split in U.S./foreign revenue, declared only 12 percent of its profits in the US.
Dow had 32 percent of its sales in the U.S., but declared a U.S. loss against foreign profits of over $5 billion.
DuPont listed 38 percent of sales and 67 percent of property in the U.S., but only 20 percent of income.
Honeywell had almost 60 percent of sales in US, but only 34 percent of its income.
Johnson & Johnson declared 44 percent of its sales and over half of its long-lived assets in the U.S., but only 32 percent of its income.
Microsoft claimed over half its sales in the U.S., but only about 20 percent of its income.

no guys dont tax em

 

[JBond]

BOA....isn't that Obama's boy, Buffet?

I guess you need to complain to the Ways and Means committees. They make the rules.

I agree reform is needed, but that that does not necessarily mean higher rates. In fact it could be argued that a lower rate would incentivize companies to keep their profits here. That would be assuming some of the ridiculous loop holes are worked out. A couple of years ago the tax payers paid GE $5 billion as a reward for intentionally crashing their finance division to offset record profits from their manufacturing divisions.

They need a separate set of rules for small and mid size companies so they are not hurt by legislation that is intended stop some of the nonsense giant corporations take part in.

 

[superpunk]

Those are good ideas, JBond.

What is interesting is that every time a Democrat brings eliminating special-interest corporate tax loopholes to the table, a Republican always blocks the bill usually with a filibuster. see: the mess we're in now.

They've also blocked tax cuts for small businesses.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...iness-hiring/2012/07/12/gJQAto0xfW_story.html

I think you and most republicans agree with democrats here. The issue is your party has hammered the NO NEW TAXES line for so long it feels traitorous to side with democrats when republicans are clearly in the wrong and aren't protecting the interests of the American people. Which they absolutely are not when it comes to tax policy. They are protecting special interests.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

The US has the highest statutory corporate tax rate among industrialized nations (35 percent) but one of the lowest effective corporate tax rates. This is because we offer copious subsidies and breaks to certain industries (green, oil and gas, etc.) while the businesses who can't find tax breaks set up shop elsewhere. We need to stop playing favorites with tax policy and simplify the tax code by eliminating subsidies and loopholes, which are anti-free market. The last major simplification of the tax code occurred in 1986.

If we eliminated breaks and loopholes, we could lower our statutory rate to more European levels (roughly 20 percent) and increase the amount of revenue.

This was the strategy proposed by the Simpson-Bowles Commission. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears in both parties.

 

[superpunk]

Unfortunately the SB plan had too many unpopular political things in it to gain traction. republicans didn't want it because of the loophole closings, which they erroneously label "new taxes", and democrats wouldn't vote for it because it slashed entitlements like medicaire and medicaid which would be political suicide. Neither party wanted to vote for it because of huge defense spending cuts.

I think ideologically, we can see which party was more looking out for the populace at large, however.