Two weeks ago it was announced that the U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate in the world sparking furious debate from Fox News types concerned about corporate well being. At RAN, we decided to dig a little deeper to see whether the corporate tax rate really is unfairly penalizing multi billion dollar corporations. Our discovery? The actual corporate tax rate may not matter when corporations don’t pay anything close to it anyway.
RAN’s new “Top 10 Dirty Corporate Tax Dodgers of 2011” infographic reviewed top bank, oil and coal companies: Bank of America, Citi, JPMorganChase, Wells Fargo, Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and Peabody Energy. We found that none of these ten companies paid anything close to the 35% corporate tax rate. In fact, Bank of America and Alpha Natural Resources paid no taxes at all.
Collectively, these ten corporations made a profit of $189.178 billion while only paying $13.34 billion in taxes in 2011. If they had paid the 35% corporate tax rate it would have put $52.87 billion back into the economy. It begs the question, what do the rest of us get while the government allows big business to game the system?
Here’s a bit more of the wonky details from U.S. News and World Report:
“The real issue lies in understanding the huge gap between the “nominal rate” (the list price) and the “real rate” (the tax rate that most companies actually pay.) These two rates diverge widely. The nominal federal tax rate on the largest corporations is now 35 percent. State taxes, on average, bump this to 39.2 percent. This nominal rate ranks as the highest among developed countries. However, no major company really pays the nominal rate. Big companies enjoy a huge buffet of credits, shelters, deductions, and other preferences that reduce their rate to an average of 13 percent. Many profitable companies pay no federal income tax at all. Regardless of our nominal rate, our real corporate tax rate is among the lowest.”
The ten banks, oil and coal companies that RAN researched are responsible for foreclosing on millions of people’s homes and polluting our air, water and climate. At the same time, we found that they pay next to nothing into a tax system that provides the very services that protect the homeless, the sick and our environment.
Bottom-line, these dirty corporations don’t need any more handouts, bailouts, or subsidies. Our country does not have a money problem; it has a priorities problem. We’re subsidizing and bailing out multi billion dollar businesses at the expense of everything else: our economy, our climate, our health, and our future.
Here’s two things you can do about:
1. Tell President Obama; it’s time corporate tax dodgers pay their fair share!
2. Join the 99%Power in taking direct action with thousands upon thousands to shine a light on the exact corporate actors who created this historically unjust economy. Under the banner of 99% Power, there will be more demonstrations leading up to and at corporate shareholder meetings this Spring than at any point in American history.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $100,000 in one-time donations and to add 1300 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy