A variety of technology corporations are among those pressuring the US government to give them a preferential tax break, sources tell Fortune. Apple, Cisco, Pfizer and Duke Energy are specifically named as lobbying politicians for a tax “holiday” in regards to repatriated cash. Whereas the companies would normally be obligated to pay 35 percent, their goal is allegedly to pay just 5 percent.
Everyone is taxed multiple times, so stop running the con that investors deserve to be a protected class. Workers pay FICA and income taxes, so sales tax payments come out of income that has been previously taxed. You also pay the real estate taxes of store owners when you buy goods or eat out. You pay the gas taxes on the shipping costs of products you buy online (again out of your after tax dollars!)
And let’s also not forget that growth rates were higher when corporations were more heavily taxed, dispelling the notion that making corporations pay their fair share is a negative for the economy.
But thanks to the tender ministrations of the Fed, which is goosing asset prices right and left in a futile effort to pump of the economy, Apple has a cheap and easy way out of the fact that its clever tax avoidance leaves its monster cache largely overseas, where it can’t buy the good will of increasingly jaded US investors. Its $17 billion of bond offerings Tuesday were a blowout. And that’s despite the fact that they didn’t garner an AAA rating. That view may as much reflect rating agency doubts that Apple will ever get the tax breaks it wants to bring its dough into the US on the cheap as well as concerns about how long the Cupertino company can keep its cachet and the premium margins that result.
Read more at:
Financial Media Celebrates Apple’s Tax Evasion Bond Deal « naked capitalism
Just the chart says it all. I've always viewed taxes as chores. The older and bigger you get, the more chores you should have to do to help out the rest of your family. It sucks, but then again it's way easier for you to do it than the little guy. Granted the little guys still need to do their part, but they don't need to mow the CEO's lawn and do their dishes for them.
ReplyDeleteJust the chart says it all. I've always viewed taxes as chores. The older and bigger you get, the more chores you should have to do to help out the rest of your family. It sucks, but then again it's way easier for you to do it than the little guy. Granted the little guys still need to do their part, but they don't need to mow the CEO's lawn and do their dishes for them.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to think of it this way, but who wouldn't avoid taxes if they could. Like we have discussed, no corporations have the job of making sure there is equality in America, so they will put all of their efforts into maximizing profits.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interested to see how that chart parallels with politics. Note how low corporate taxes in 1984 were during the Reagan administration. It is interesting that a similar low point was in 2009. As mentioned yesterday at that time due to high inflation, the market needed less government. We are in a much different time than we were 30 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the article, it is interesting to see companies like Apple and Pfizer asking for tax holidays. These corporations are sitting on cash! The hopes with tax breaks is that the companies given tax breaks will reinvest, but how do we know they will follow through?
Taxes seem to accumulate the more wealthier you get, but then again there is always some loop hole the wealthy can use to still not pay as much as they should. Inequalities is truly a huge problem in our nation that I see even more evident from this class and also issues in urban economics. By solving this issue we can take the necessary steps toward bettering our financial situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bianca in that large companies such as Apple and Pfizer are certainly capable of paying higher taxes. While reinvesting in our economy is desirable, I would think it more likely that these companies would use the opportunity to grow larger, investing instead in cheaper production abroad. Looks like an incentives problem to me.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the head of a large company such as Apple, I would like to think that I would be willing to give back to the US via higher taxes or reinvestment in the country, but to be honest, I feel like the greedy side would kick in and I would want to find the cheapest way to do everything, whether it be moving my company abroad or whatever.. That's just the sad truth.
ReplyDelete