From The Class War Front: GE, Once Again, Pays No U.S. Taxes...

[WillyT]

Hyper-Rich GE Holds Workers Hostage for Tax Cuts
By: masaccio - FDL
Saturday November 20, 2010 9:00 am

<snip>

The mega-corporation General Electric has advised the State of Massachusetts that it wants tax credits of $25 million, and if the State agrees, GE will maintain the 3,000 workers at a plant in Lynn for 6 years. Otherwise, it threatens to fire workers. It plans to use the millions to upgrade the equipment at the plant, which manufactures aircraft engines, largely for the Defense Department. The company says it will keep the plant no matter what, so the extent of the threat is unclear. It is at least enough to get Governor Deval Patrick to the negotiating table.

This fabulously wealthy company paid exactly $0 in US taxes last year, despite reporting $11.2 billion in net earnings on revenues of $156.8 billion. 2010 10-K p. 84. GE claimed to lose $498 million in the US. It claimed to make $10.8 billion overseas. Those foreign earnings required GE to pay taxes of $2.4 billion to foreign governments. (Note 14, p. 133), but the US losses meant that it owed no US taxes, and gets what it calls a “tax benefit” of $1.9 billion. Here is GE’s explanation:

Income taxes (benefit) on consolidated earnings from continuing operations were (10.5)% in 2009 compared with 5.3% in 2008 and 15.1% in 2007. Our consolidated income tax rate is lower than the U.S. statutory rate primarily because of benefits from lower-taxed global operations, including the use of global funding structures, and our 2009 and 2008 decisions to indefinitely reinvest prior-year earnings outside the U.S.

Our consolidated income tax rate decreased from 2008 to 2009 primarily because of a reduction during 2009 of income in higher-taxed jurisdictions. This increased the relative effect of our tax benefits from lower-taxed global operations, including the decision, discussed below, to indefinitely reinvest prior-year earnings outside the U.S. These effects were partially offset by a decrease from 2008 to 2009 in the benefit from lower-taxed earnings from global operations.

What this means is that the income came from foreign operations, where taxes are lower. Among these foreign jurisdictions are noted tax havens such as Luxembourg and Bermuda. GE does not identify the nations it uses for its “global funding structures,” which I bet are tax havens.

It also says that GE has decided to keep it’s overseas “profits” out of the US, no doubt waiting for another of those foolish and destructive amnesties that Congress grants, allowing them to repatriate their profits at a nominal tax rate.

But that kind of greed isn’t enough. Now, despite its cash holdings of $78.392 billion, it wants Massachusetts taxpayers to pay to refurbish a plant. If taxpayers don’t pony up, GE is threatening to fire people.

Heaven forbid that Corporate Persons should buy equipment themselves, or pay taxes. That’s for the little human people, who should be so grateful for their crumbs, if any are left.

<snip>

Link: http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/20/hyper-rich-ge-holds-workers-hostage-for-tax-cuts/

:wtf:

:mad::nuke::mad:

[CrispyQ]

1. You'll never hear the teabaggers complain about this,though.

:eyes:

This & the military budget are sacrosanct, the People be damned.

[golddigger]

2. Yeah, but Wesley snipes is going to jail

for not filing income tax.

[Initech]

3. When's the revolution start?

:grr: :argh: :nuke: :grr:

[prodigals0n]

4. Revolution? LOL

Revolution? In America? Today?

If Americans of 2010 were around in 1776 we'd still be paying taxes to the British Crown.

[Initech]

5. Good point.

And that's what's wrong with this country - no one's willing to stand up and fight for anything. This should be front page news and people should be fucking angry about this. Instead we're distracted by stupid crap.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. Bringing good things to life!

:( Except here at home of course...

[KoKo]

7. This is what "TPTB" DO...and how they Get Away with it!

[Hannah Bell]

8. This is one of the reasons for the deficit. Corporate taxes used to fund a serious proportion of

the federal budget: not so today.

28% in the 50s, 21% in the 60s, 10% in the 80s, & less today -- something like 7% or less.

A travesty.

■Although taxes paid by corporations, measured as a share of the economy, rose modestly during the boom years of the 1990s, they remained sharply lower even in the boom years than in previous decades. According to OMB historical data, corporate taxes averaged 2 percent of GDP in the 1990s. That represented only about two-fifths of their share of GDP in the 1950s, half of their share in the 1960s, and three-quarters of their share in the 1970s.

■Corporate income tax revenues are lower in the United States than in most European countries. According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, total federal and state corporate income tax revenues in the United States in 2000, measured as a share of the economy, were about one-quarter less than the average for other OECD member countries. Thirty-five years ago, the opposite was true — corporations in the United States bore a heavier burden than their European counterparts.


http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1311

[StarsInHerHair]

9. this is like owners of a sports team too, Ireland is keeping

corp. tax rates at a low 12% or something.

So, WE need to think of a counter move to this,as it's being used round the world now.

I'll start: ok we won't let you be tax free, sorry you're so greedy. The Corp. says then we'll fire workers & move out of state.
I say fine, all taxes on your income for years _____to ______ are due immediately. You CEO & the Board will be jailed & your property confiscated if you do not comply.


What I also want to ask is: what do you think an effective push-back against Corporate rule would look like? What would effectively turning this nation around feel like?

I know Faux would be screaming that things were going to be horrible, like the Right said about Clinton raising taxes would ruin the economy. I know the TPs would be screaming mad when the "loyal Bushies" were purged-they'd scream it was illegal, it was racist-would you believe them?

If Obama begun investigations into the War Crimes we'd hear ear-shattering madness all over the media. It's be all about the Pres. is now sending us to the c mps, they'd scream Obama is going to send the military into your neighborhoods & kill you wives & children-would you believe them?

Would their fits make you stop procedures?

[WillyT]

10. Kick !!!

:kick:

[Owl]

11. k&r

[xchrom]

12. GE = welfare queen beyond compare. Nt

[spin]

13. Big corporations should pay their fair share too ...

the reason they don't is that they buy and own our politicians.

[fishwax]

14. k/r

:kick:

[WillyT]

15. Kick !!!

:kick: