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Corporate Tax Dodgers: 10 Companies, Their Tax Loopholes and 2012 Lobbying Expenses

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Post PhotoAs I was researching my posts on lobbying I ran across an article published on CommonDreams.org (link to article is at the end of this post) about corporate tax dodgers and it aggravated me. This was especially true after the gun control vote. We elect our national politicians to lead our country, but I’m afraid that something bad happens on the way to Washington—special interests and lobbyists take over and we lose our voice. We see it in workplace safety inspections (or, rather the lack thereof) because our Congress is cutting OSHA’s budget and who does that benefit, the American who voted or the businesses that lobby? When we had the gun control vote, did our Senators vote the way about 90% of the American’s wanted, or did they respond to special interests? When our Senate and House of Representatives respond to issues, are they voting for Americans or the special interests? The answer is simple—special interests and why does that happen? Lobbying pure and simple! Corporations need to play their fair share of taxes and our elected representatives need to understand that lobbying dollars don’t equate to their job security.

In this post I’ll write about tax dodging corporations and lobbying because I believe that we all need to know as much as we can; it may be the only way we can get through to our elected representatives. If we tell them enough times that we’re tired of them voting for special interests and we want them to vote for our interests, maybe we can make a difference. If enough of us let them know that their political career might be over if they continue to ignore voters, maybe they’ll start paying more attention to us. If I have to write a short note that I can send to all of them every day, then that’s what I’ll do. The message is simple—represent us, not the corporations.

I’ve summarized the data on the 10 corporations here. I also researched the 2012 lobbying expenses these corporations reported, which was collected and consolidated by OpenSecrets.org and included those amounts here. Lobbying expenses by corporations can be in a variety of places depending on the corporation and their subsidiaries, but I believe that the numbers reported here represent the least amount, if not the actual total. In other words, it’s the best I believe I can do with the information I have. Also, the data reported in the article wasn’t in the format I could use to build a spreadsheet and feel that it would accurately portray the numbers, so I had to use my calculator in parts to get my totals.

With my explanation and methodology out of the way, my purpose for writing this is simple—we elect our Senators and Representatives to represent us, so let’s all tell them that we have the vote and if they don’t start taking care of Americans, they won’t have a place in Washington. We need to tell them we know what they are doing! We need to remind them how they got their office in the first place! We need to remind them that if they take the sides of corporations and special interests while ignoring the people who pay their salary, that they won’t have a salary.

Here are the ten corporations with tax data and 2012 lobbying expenses.

Bank of America
Had $17.2 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes. Reported it would owe $4.3 billion in U.S. taxes if profits are brought home.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $2,950,000
Subtotal for Parent Bank of America: $2,750,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Incapital LLC: $200,000

Citigroup
Had $42.6 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes. Reported it would owe $11.5 billion in U.S. taxes if profits are brought home.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $6,000,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Citigroup Management Corp: $5,260,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Primerica Financial Services: $480,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Citigroup Global Markets: $260,000

ExxonMobil
Paid just a 15% federal income tax rate from 2010-2012, less than half the official 35% corporate tax rate – a tax subsidy of $6.2 billion. Had $43 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $12,970,000
Subtotal for Parent Exxon Mobil: $12,970,000

FedEx
Made $5.7 billion from 2010-2012 and didn’t pay a dime in federal income taxes. Got a tax subsidy of $2.1 billion. Received $10.3 billion in federal contracts from 2006-2012.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $11,874,380
Subtotal for Parent FedEx Corp: $11,874,380

General Electric
Made $88 billion from 2002-2012 and paid just 2.4% in taxes for a tax subsidy of $29 billion. Paid no taxes in 4 years. Had $108 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes. Received $21.8 billion in federal contracts from 2006-2012.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $21,120,000
Subtotal for Parent General Electric: $18,970,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary GE Aviation: $870,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary GE Capital: $780,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary General Electric Transportation: $260,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary General Electric Healthcare: $80,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary General Electric Aviation Systems: $70,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary GE Transportation Operating Comp: $40,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary GE Transportation Systems: $30,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary GE Inspection Technologies: $20,000

Honeywell
Made $5 billion from 2009-2012 and paid just $50 million in federal income taxes – a tax subsidy of $1.7 billion. Had $11.6 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes. Received $16.7 billion in federal contracts from 2006-2012.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $7,120,000
Subtotal for Parent Honeywell International: $7,120,000

Merck
Made $13.6 billion and paid $2.5 billion in federal income taxes from 2009-2012. Paid an 18.4% federal income tax rate, half the official 35% rate – a tax subsidy of $2.2 billion. Had $53.4 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes. Received $8.7 billion in federal contracts from 2006-2012.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $9,510,000
Subtotal for Parent Merck & Co: $9,510,000

Microsoft
Saved $4.5 billion in federal income taxes from 2009-2011 by transferring profits to a subsidiary in the tax haven of Puerto Rico. Had $60.8 billion in profits stashed offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. taxes; reported it would owe $19.4 billion if profits are brought home.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $8,086,000
Subtotal for Parent Microsoft Corp: $8,086,000

Pfizer
Received $2.2 billion in federal tax refunds from 2010-2012 while earning $43 billion worldwide even though 40% of its sales are in America. Had $73 billion in profits offshore in 2012 on which it paid no U.S. income taxes. Received $3.4 billion in federal contracts from 2010-2012.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $10,450,000
Subtotal for Parent Pfizer Inc: $10,210,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Pfizer Animal Health: $200,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary Alpharma Inc/Pfizer Animal Health: $40,000

Verizon
Made $19.3 billion in U.S. pretax profits from 2008-2012 but paid no federal income taxes during the period; instead got $535 million in tax rebates. Total tax subsidy: $7.3 billion. Received up to $6 billion in federal contracts from 2011 through 2023.

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $15,220,000
Subtotal for Parent Verizon Communications: $15,020,000
   Subtotal for Subsidiary Verizon Wireless: $200,000

My calculator tells me that these ten corporations spent $105.3 million on lobbying activities in 2012. You can look at the individual corporations and check their income numbers. They get tax subsidies, they get government business, we get the shaft. It’s time to stop it!!!

 

 

CommonDreams.org http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/17-1

OpenSecrets.org http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/search.php

 

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcbeth/2784151547/ and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6629107607/


Tagged: government, Lobbyists, politicians, Politics

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