General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.
The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.
Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
That may be hard to fathom for the millions of American business owners and households now preparing their own returns, but low taxes are nothing new for G.E. The company has been cutting the percentage of its American profits paid to the Internal Revenue Service for years, resulting in a far lower rate than at most multinational companies.
Its extraordinary success is based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore. G.E.’s giant tax department, led by a bow-tied former Treasury official named John Samuels, is often referred to as the world’s best tax law firm. Indeed, the company’s slogan “Imagination at Work” fits this department well. The team includes former officials not just from the Treasury, but also from the I.R.S. and virtually all the tax-writing committees in Congress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?_r=1&hp
$14 billion in profits. Zero taxes paid. Worse, it sounds like they actually got $3.2 billion in "tax benefit." That means other people who do pay taxes gave GE a big chunk of money even though GE paid no federal income tax at all.
And that last paragraph.. man, that's everything wrong with our country right there. An army of former treasury and IRS officials, an army of lawyers to lobby for loopholes in Congress, and of course the "creative accounting."
Sickening. But whatever Democrats, go ahead and cut Granny off her home heating assistance.
The White House response:
White House defends embrace of G.E. CEO despite report company didn't owe taxes in 2010
At his press briefing Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked to square Mr. Obama's call for corporate tax reform with his embrace of Immelt. Asked if the story bothered the president, Carney responded that "he is bothered by what I think you're getting at, which is that Americans, I'm sure, who read that story or heard about it are wondering, you know -- you know, how this could be."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20047212-503544.html
Is that guy trying to sound stupid? He's basically saying the president is more worried about what people THINK of this than the actual fact of GE not paying any taxes.
