10 Companies that pay little to No Tax....

[MindMover]

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Cmon now really....

[bhikkhu]

1. The sentiment is good, but the facts are all screwy in that

...batching dissimilar types of information as if they were equivalent is disingenuous, and one of the things I find most objectionable when the other side does it. Another is making claims without providing sufficient information to verify those claims. What years are we talking about, for instance? Are they the same years for all of the companies?

Unfortunately, it is very easy to misconstrue financial reports. I can say that the claim about GE is a commonly repeated internet myth, which I looked into myself at one point. They have paid about 15% in corporate taxes on their net income, on average, over the last decade. I'm guessing the others do about the same - which is very low and makes the supposed actual tax rate kind of a joke.

So I agree with any claim that loopholes and such need tightened up and large corporations should be paying the actual rate, but manufacturing faulty information about it doesn't get us there, and just makes people look silly or strident.

[MindMover]

2. If there is false facts in this post please direct to this website....and thank you for your post...

http://www.abcbizloans.com/social/finance/

[bhikkhu]

3. Looking at the page (which has no place for comments) -

I think one problem is that they list three sources for information - Suntimes.com, Wikipedia, and CNN.

The best place to find actual financial statements - usually independently audited and vetted by the SEC, is in the yearly statements to corporate shareholders. These are public information when the companies are public, and will give the information on taxes paid. For GE, as an example, their statements are at http://www.ge.com/investors/financial_reporting/annual_reports.html , and the tax information for any given year will be in a chapter titled "Audited Financial Statements", in the Statement of Earnings report. 2011, again as an example, lists 20.098 billion in earning before taxes, then lists 5.732 billion as the taxes on income for that year.

If journalists reliably looked at and understood the primary information before they wrote stories, then they'd be a good source for information too.

[MindMover]

4. Maybe this is an OK source.....

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/03/360185/30-corporations-no-taxes/

[badtoworse]

5. I'll go with audited financials in the annual reports, Form 10K's, etc.

I've lost faith in honest reporting from either side of the political spectrum. GE has been excoriated by the left for paying no taxes in recent years, but no one mentions they had had big operating losses that carried forward from prior years. Leaving that out is not honest reporting.

[MindMover]

6. I suppose operating costs are honestly reported, like my own deductions....!

I hope one day soon we can get down to a one bibles length long tax code instead of the seven that we have now......

[joeglow3]

7. As a tax CPA who prepares taxes for financial statements for a Fortune 500 Co., I can concur

For instance, people blasted YUM for paying to taxes a couple years ago. I found this odd and read their annual report on the SEC's EDGAR database and easily saw what happened:

Companies incur pension expense every year. However, for income tax purposes, they do not get an income tax deduction until a contribution to the pension trust is made. YUM had been incurring pension expenses for years without getting a tax deduction. When you looked at their income tax rate, it includes current income taxes (what they owe this year) and deferred income taxes (what they will owe in the future on items that are treated differently for income tax purposes than for GAAP).

In the year in question, YUM made a HUGE pension contribution. Their income tax rate did not change, as the combination of current and deferred income taxes yields a relatively steady rate. HOwever, in that year, they had ZERO current income tax expense because they finally got a pension deduction on their income tax return. Instead, all their taxes were reported as deferred income taxes because of this reversal. People were screaming that YUM paid zero in CURRENT income taxes. The reality is that the company would have LOVED to have gotten those pension deductions years earlier. Instead, they actually had to pay MORE in taxes in those earlier years and not get the benenfit for years. Thus, people were bitching about the company have to pay MORE in taxes in earlier years.

In short, agenda driven people flat out lied to push their agenda. Thus, I too approach these things with skepticism because they prey on the fact that anyone other than a tax CPA would have no idea if they are lying or not.

[MindMover]

8. There was a study done some years back where they gave 10 CPA's one individuals tax return...

and got 10 different answers.....the system is incredulously rigged.....to the benefit of those that know how to work it.....

[joeglow3]

10. The concept of deferred taxes and the deductibility of pension expense is pretty clear

I agree that it is overly complex. I fully support them streamlining the process the day after I retire. That said, that complexity is EXACTLY what many of these articles are relying on.

[MindMover]

11. That is an obvious statement coming from a CPA.....

have you had too much to drink tonight.....

[joeglow3]

12. You can put the tin foil hat back on

I love my job and, quite frankly, am damn good at what I do. I love any opportunity I can get to teach people and educate them on something that can be complex. It is clear you have ZERO desire to learn anything and are more interested in just parroting conspiracy theories. Good luck with that...

[MindMover]

13. Thank you, my tin foil hat is placed firmly on my head.....and I do not believe the Wizard....

Last edited Thu Mar 15, 2012, 01:13 AM - Edit history (1)

REALITY is better than any conspiracy,

IE: present day stock market.... http://www.democraticunderground.com/101619394 ......

and others, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002420506 , http://www.democraticunderground.com/125121796

I apologize for assuming that you drink alcohol.....it has been my experience that the cognitive dissonance that CPA's endure leads to substance use.....not necessarily abuse....

I am the one in the tin foil hat....

[badtoworse]

14. Ignorance can be a very comfortable environment...

and some people just don't want to leave it.

[Nye Bevan]

9. If companies voluntarily paid more tax than they needed to,

they would be opening themselves up to shareholder lawsuits. For example, Carnival is incorporated in Panama, and its low tax rate is perfectly legal. Kind of like how people living in New Hampshire pay less income tax than people in California.