Facebook, The Coolest Cutest Corporate Welfare Queen Of Them All

[FarCenter]

So, as the drama with all its lurid theatrics was playing out in Washington, Facebook filed its first 10-K annual report with the SEC, containing its financial statements for 2012 along with a host of small-print footnotes which presumably no one would ever look at. But the recalcitrant nonpartisan research and advocacy group, Citizens for Tax Justice, combed through it anyway.

And it found “an amazing admission”: despite $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from its US operations in 2012, Facebook didn’t pay any federal or state income taxes in the US—in fact it will collect net tax refunds totaling $429 million.

Facebook is relying on a single tax break in our glorious corporate tax-dodge code to obtain its negative tax rate: the deductibility of executive and employee stock options. It cut Facebook’s federal and state income taxes by $1.03 billion last year—but that was just part of it.

As Facebook said in its footnote under “Share-based Compensation,” on page 68 of the 10-K: “during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, we realized tax benefits from share-based award activity of $1.03 billion, $433 million, and $115 million respectively.”

Another $2.17 billion of this US tax break is carried forward. To rub it in, COO Sheryl Sandberg giddily pointed out during the earnings call that the company “ended the year with a total of $5.8 billion in NOL tax loss carry forwards created by stock compensation”—to be used in future years.

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-the-coolest-cutest-corporate-welfare-queen-of-them-all-2013-2

[ProfessionalLeftist]

1. You know what the corprats say: "well, we weren't doing anything illegal"

And therein lies the problem. Who writes the damn tax laws? Mostly corporations and Wall St and they write them to suit themselves at everyone else's expense.

That they "weren't doing anything illegal" is in ITSELF THE problem. These corprat-welfare-at-everyone-else's-expense laws MUST change. Before that can happen, actual human beings who vote in elections need to be put back in control of their government, instead of psychopathic greed-driven paper monsters known as corporations.

Jesus Christmas.

[freshwest]

2. What an obscenity.

[Initech]

3. Hey Paul Ryan! These corporate welfare queens are the real takers in our society!!

[lastlib]

9. Winner! Winner!!

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And our tax code allows this sh*t??!?!!?

[Merlot]

4. Made my stomach turn.

[LittleGirl]

5. THIS

is what is wrong with this country and taxes.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

6. so. Citizens for Tax Justice found all this....

So what happens next? CfTJ just sits back and says "how nice for you"? Or do they bring the info to someone interested in doing something, like Senator Elizabeth Warren?

[lastlib]

10. Or Bernie Sanders?!

Bernie, we need you!!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. both! n/t

[msongs]

7. our republicans and democrats in congress, working hard for their corporate masters nt

[joeglow3]

8. U realize that is W-2 earned income for the people receiving it, right?

The stock options themselves are an issue, but the taxes are being paid. This is like saying a company should not deduct salaries and aren't paying income on that piece.

[lastlib]

11. But corporations shouldn't be rewarded for doing it

It's the built-in incentive to do this sh*t that burns me up.

[Laelth]

13. Vomit. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth