smugllama's news review
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
GAO: Most Corporations Don't Pay Federal Taxes (MemoryBlog)
"As tax time nears, here's something for US citizens to chew on. from the Wall Street Journal: More than 60% of U.S. corporations didn't pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, years when the economy boomed and corporate profits soared, the investigative arm of Congress reported. ... Corporate tax receipts have shrunk markedly as a share of overall federal revenue in recent years, and were particularly depressed when the economy soured. By 2003, they had fallen to just 7.4% of overall federal receipts, the lowest rate since 1983, and the second-lowest rate since 1934, federal budget officials say. To make it even more sickening, most corporations that actually do owe taxes pay a rate less than 5%. So when you add the corporations that pay no taxes with those that pay tiny taxes, 94% of US-controlled companies and 89% of foreign-controlled companies paid zero to 4% in taxes. Now fork over one-fourth to one-third of your income to the IRS, citizen!"
"As tax time nears, here's something for US citizens to chew on. from the Wall Street Journal: More than 60% of U.S. corporations didn't pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, years when the economy boomed and corporate profits soared, the investigative arm of Congress reported. ... Corporate tax receipts have shrunk markedly as a share of overall federal revenue in recent years, and were particularly depressed when the economy soured. By 2003, they had fallen to just 7.4% of overall federal receipts, the lowest rate since 1983, and the second-lowest rate since 1934, federal budget officials say. To make it even more sickening, most corporations that actually do owe taxes pay a rate less than 5%. So when you add the corporations that pay no taxes with those that pay tiny taxes, 94% of US-controlled companies and 89% of foreign-controlled companies paid zero to 4% in taxes. Now fork over one-fourth to one-third of your income to the IRS, citizen!"
