A Government Accountability Office study of corporate tax

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canada goose uk outlet tax system that caters exclusively to those at the top. So does Michele Bachmann, the Republican representative from Minnesota, a onetime tax lawyer who hopes to make a run for the White House. Likewise, Tim Pawlenty, the former two term Republican governor of Minnesota, who also sees himself sitting in the Oval Office. Needless to say, none state their proposals like that. But that’s the way their numbers and provisions add up. canada goose uk outlet

Canada Goose Online Like others in Congress and the media, Cantor, Bachmann, and Pawlenty insist that American businesses are paying too much in corporate income tax. They claim the onerous tax burden is killing jobs and forcing companies to move abroad. To reverse the nation’s fortunes, they say, all Washington need do is slash the corporate tax rate, thereby reducing the amount of taxes these businesses are forced to pay. What’s scary is canada goose outlet florida a growing number of citizens believe them. Canada Goose Online

canada goose uk black friday That means a forecast made years ago by William J. Casey, a canada goose stockists uk wily Republican from another era who liked to dabble in the intelligence world’s black arts inside and outside the country, and who helped craft the election canada goose outlet vancouver of Ronald Reagan, is coming true. After taking canada goose outlet usa office, President Reagan installed Casey as head of the CIA in 1981. After his first staff meeting at the agency, Casey was quoted as saying: canada goose uk black friday

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One of the more egregious falsehoods being peddled by the corporate tax cutters is that companies doing business in the United States are taxed at an exorbitant rate. Not so. Though the United States has one of the highest statutory rates on the books at 35 percent, the only fair way to canada goose factory outlet vancouver measure what companies actually pay is their effective rate what they ultimately pay after deductions, credits, and assorted write offs. By that yardstick, companies in the United States consistently pay taxes at rates lower than corporations in Japan and many nations in Europe.

During the 1950s, the decade in which more people joined the middle class than at any time in history before or since corporations paid 49 percent of canada goose uk site their profits in taxes. Last year, it was about half that rate, a decidedly more modest 26 percent. In 2010, corporate tax collections totaled $191 billion down 8 percent from $207 billion as recently as 2000.

Canada Goose online Perhaps a more telling yardstick, corporate tax revenue canada goose outlet boston in 2009 came official canada goose outlet to just 1 percent of gross domestic product the lowest collection level since 1936, canada goose clothing uk or canada goose outlet michigan three quarters of a century ago. In 2010, it edged up to a puny 1.3 percent the second lowest since 1940. Even worse, the shriveled tax collections came at a time when corporations were registering an all time high in profits. At the end of 2010, corporations canada goose factory outlet toronto location posted an annualized profit of $1.65 trillion in canada goose outlet 2015 the fourth quarter. In other words, the more they made, the less they paid. Canada Goose online

canada goose black friday sale As for the corporate share of total income taxes paid by businesses and individuals, it has plummeted from 40 percent in 1950, the dawn of Middle America’s golden age, to 18 percent last year. canada goose black friday sale

canada goose canada goose outlet The numbers tell us that a lot of politicians, including would be presidential candidates, are mathematically challenged. canada goose

Canada Goose Coats On Sale The canada goose outlet london uk corporate numbers also explain why hardworking Americans are on a greased downward slope from which they are unlikely to recover, as long as the lawmakers and deal makers in Washington not only refuse canada goose outlet nyc to ease their plight, but canada goose uk also continue to pile on, compelling them alone to pay for the country’s massive deficit while simultaneously chipping away at their safety nets. Canada Goose Coats On Sale

Canada Goose Parka In 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available, individuals and families with incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 paid nearly $2,500, on average, in individual income taxes a tax rate of 7.1 percent. Once again, because select corporations in America know the right people in Washington, they are doing better. Securities and Exchange Commission. Canada Goose Parka

canada goose coats on sale In its most recent filing, Exxon Mobil Corp., the global energy giant, reported income of $34.8 billion before taxes on total revenue of $310.6 billion for 2009. income canada goose outlet in new york tax canada goose outlet uk bill: Zero. Actually, it was a little better than that. Exxon Mobil claimed a tax benefit of $838 million, while it paid $15.8 billion in income taxes to other countries. General Electric Co. did equally well. Its report to the SEC showed canada goose outlet online store income before taxes of $10 billion on total revenue of $155.3 billion. income tax paid. And like Exxon Mobil, GE also reported a tax benefit, albeit a little larger at $1.1 billion. canada goose coats on sale

uk canada goose outlet It should be underscored that the financial statements filed with the SEC are different than those submitted to the IRS. That’s because corporations maintain so many different sets of financial records that they would keep a bookmaker’s head spinning for years. Hence, what corporate America tells the SEC is not exactly what it tells the IRS. income tax. Precisely how much, or more accurately, how little, will remain a secret. uk canada goose outlet

canadian goose jacket Exxon Mobil and GE have lots of company. A Government Accountability Office study of corporate tax returns for 1998 to 2005 found that in any given year the number of large foreign controlled domestic corporations that reported no income tax liability ranged as high as 54 percent. In short, one of every two big canada goose outlet store toronto corporations operating in the United States under foreign ownership canada goose outlet locations in toronto paid no taxes. citizens, a high of 38 percent reported they owed no federal income tax. canadian goose jacket

cheap canada goose uk As these and other government statistics show, the United States has two tax systems: A flexible, preferential one for multinational corporations and the rich; a rigid, nonnegotiable one for working people. In other words, if you’re not lucky enough to be a global business or a wealthy individual, you must pay pretty much what Congress dictates. If, however, you are among the privileged, well, your company makes billions for you and essentially operates tax free. cheap canada goose uk

buy canada goose jacket cheap To be sure, some corporations pay the maximum 35 percent rate. Like individuals, those companies, often medium size domestic operations, are unable to make use of the accounting gimmicks available to multinational and select other businesses. buy canada goose jacket cheap

canada goose clearance sale Nonetheless, corporate America collectively has long whined about paying excessive taxes. This even though it derives the largest benefit from government outlays, especially during war years. In 2010, with not one, but two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) in progress, both of which have lasted twice as long as World War II, and with a third war (Libya) under way, corporate tax collections averaged 1.8 percent of GDP. During World War II, it was a little more than three times that rate 5.7 percent. Each percentage point difference means individuals must cough up an additional $150 billion. That would be roughly the equivalent of doubling the amount paid by all taxpayers in Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, canada goose outlet mississauga Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In short, corporate America does not come canada goose outlet online reviews close to paying its fair share of government’s cost. Nor, obviously, is it called upon to make any human sacrifice. As for all those hundreds of billions, they simply were and are added to the national debt, a tab that will be borne disproportionately by working Americans. canada goose clearance sale

What kind of corporation escapes responsibility for any of these bills? Carnival Cruise Lines for one, a Miami company whose glitzy megaships have names like Carnival Fantasy, Ecstasy, Elation, and Paradise. From 2005 to 2010, Carnival the world’s largest cruise carrier racked up $13 billion in profits. The company’s tax bill for those years? Chump change of $191 million. That’s million. income tax, foreign income, and local income tax. The canada goose outlet jackets overall tax rate came in at 1.4 percent. This canada goose outlet sale even though the ships sail out of Miami and are inspected by the Coast Guard.

Canada Goose Outlet Middle America has not fared nearly so well, thanks to a Congress that likes to sock it to ordinary people, the same people who are and will be hammered even more as lawmakers target them to be a scapegoat for the ballooning deficits. Though corporate profits have continued to climb, the wages of working people remain frozen in time. In 2008, according to IRS data, 10 million working individuals and families filed tax returns reporting incomes of between $30,000 and $40,000. Their effective tax rate: 6.8 percent nearly five times the Carnival rate. Canada Goose Outlet

Canada Goose Jackets This helps explain how members of the Arison family who started Carnival have held membership in that exclusive club of global billionaires for two decades. Canada Goose Jackets

canada goose store Ted Arison was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1924 and moved to the United States in 1952. In 1972, he formed a joint venture to establish a shipping business. His partner was Meshulam Riklis, who was born in Turkey but who also grew up in Tel canada goose parka outlet Aviv. Riklis, too, moved to the United States, where he eventually became one of the early canadagooseparks day corporate takeover artists, working alongside famed canada goose outlet parka junk bond king Michael Milken. His deals were so byzantine that even many on Wall Street had difficulty tracing the money, which seemed to end up in his pocket while others were left holding his debts. He pioneered the use of junk bonds and leveraged buyouts and corporate canada goose outlet in uk paper. Lots of paper. Sometimes he raised cash by raiding the pension funds of his employees, like those canada goose outlet uk fake who worked at McCrory Corp., one of the old five and dime chains that were fixtures in small town America, and where wages were little more than the minimum. Indeed, the wages were so low that many of Riklis’ McCrory employees did not even earn enough to qualify for a pension. canada goose store

cheap Canada Goose The Arison Riklis arrangement lasted only two years, when Arison canada goose outlet store near me bought out Riklis and formed Carnival Cruise Lines in 1974. From then on, he maintained tight control of Carnival. He systematically added ships, passengers, and amenities, like gambling. Each of his ships was a floating casino, featuring slot machines, roulette and “big 6” wheels, and tables for craps and blackjack. cheap Canada Goose

uk canada goose In 1987, Arison took the company public. Keeping with tradition, then and now, a canada goose outlet trillium parka black hefty chunk of the proceeds from the sale of stock canada goose outlet woodbury to the public went to Arison personally. The take, according to SEC records, was canada goose coats uk a special dividend of $81 million. The next year, Carnival canada goose outlet seattle immediately began paying dividends to its new shareholders in each quarter. As that suggests, there is nothing new about Carnival’s ability to avoid the tax collector and the Arison family’s attendant good fortunes. We first wrote about Carnival’s tax free status in November 1991 as part of our “America: What Went Wrong?” series. uk canada goose

At the time, we noted the fine print in a document filed with the SEC allowed that:

Canada Goose sale “The company is not subject to canada goose outlet uk sale United States corporate tax on its income from the operation of ships, and the company does not expect such income to be subject to such tax in the future. corporate income tax will remain in effect under current United canada goose outlet online uk States law for as long as the company retains its status as a controlled foreign corporation.” Canada Goose sale

buy canada goose jacket Even better for Arison and his family was yet another provision in the SEC public offering document that said: buy canada goose jacket

canada goose coats “The company intends to distribute dividends to all shareholders in at least such amounts as are necessary to enable the principal shareholders to pay the income taxes imposed on them with respect to those earnings.” canada goose coats

canada goose uk shop Translation: Whatever taxes Arison or his family incurred would be covered by a payment to them from the Carnival Corp. canada goose uk shop

canada goose factory sale To fully appreciate this scheme, when you receive your W 2 from your employer next January, ask if the company would write you a check for the taxes withheld from your paycheck. canada goose outlet kokemuksia This is a perk way canada goose jacket outlet uk beyond the reach of those who toil from canada goose outlet los angeles 9 to 5 canada goose factory sale.

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