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Posts tagged "tax cuts"
anarcho-queer: Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Defends Tax Dodge: ‘It’s Called Capitalism’ Google’s chairman says he is “proud” of the way his company avoids paying taxes. “It’s called capitalism,“ Eric Schmidt told Bloomberg in a Wednesday article. “We are proudly capitalistic. I’m not confused about this.” “We pay lots of taxes; we pay them in the legally prescribed ways,“ he said. “I am very proud of the structure that we set up. We did it based on the incentives that the governments offered us to operate.” Bloomberg reported on Monday that Google avoided paying $2 billion in global income taxes last year by housing profits in Bermuda, which has no corporate income tax. Google already had been paying a 2.4 percent overseas tax rate through tax avoidance strategies, according to a 2010 Bloomberg report. Its overall effective tax rate was 22.2 percent in 2009. Google could not be reached for comment. Google’s effective U.S. tax rate is unclear. Citizens for Tax Justice did not analyze Google in a 2011 study because Google reports most of its profits as foreign, even though that may not be true. Other big companies have avoided taxes by shifting revenue abroad. Boeing, DuPont, Capital One and General Electric paid a negative effective U.S. tax rate in 2010, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. Apple paid a total effective tax rate of just 9.8 percent last year, according to The New York Times. The U.S. government has been struggling to balance its budget; its annual deficit is projected to be $1.1 trillion this year. But taxing companies more is not really on the table. Both the Obama administration and congressional Republicans have proposed cutting the corporate tax rate. Google is a member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Tax Policy Committee, which advocates for tax reform. The group says on its website that California should “lower overall tax burdens” and give companies “tax-based incentives.”

anarcho-queer:

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Defends Tax Dodge: ‘It’s Called Capitalism’

Google’s chairman says he is “proud” of the way his company avoids paying taxes.

“It’s called capitalism,“ Eric Schmidt told Bloomberg in a Wednesday article. “We are proudly capitalistic. I’m not confused about this.”

“We pay lots of taxes; we pay them in the legally prescribed ways,“ he said. “I am very proud of the structure that we set up. We did it based on the incentives that the governments offered us to operate.”

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Google avoided paying $2 billion in global income taxes last year by housing profits in Bermuda, which has no corporate income tax. Google already had been paying a 2.4 percent overseas tax rate through tax avoidance strategies, according to a 2010 Bloomberg report. Its overall effective tax rate was 22.2 percent in 2009.

Google could not be reached for comment.

Google’s effective U.S. tax rate is unclear. Citizens for Tax Justice did not analyze Google in a 2011 study because Google reports most of its profits as foreign, even though that may not be true.

Other big companies have avoided taxes by shifting revenue abroad. Boeing, DuPont, Capital One and General Electric paid a negative effective U.S. tax rate in 2010, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. Apple paid a total effective tax rate of just 9.8 percent last year, according to The New York Times.

The U.S. government has been struggling to balance its budget; its annual deficit is projected to be $1.1 trillion this year. But taxing companies more is not really on the table. Both the Obama administration and congressional Republicans have proposed cutting the corporate tax rate.

Google is a member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Tax Policy Committee, which advocates for tax reform. The group says on its website that California should “lower overall tax burdens” and give companies “tax-based incentives.”

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GE Filed 57,000-Page Tax Return, Paid No Taxes on $14 Billion in Profits General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn’t pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked. The fact that GE paid no taxes in 2010 was widely reported earlier this year, but the size of its tax return first came to light when House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) made the case for corporate tax reform at a recent townhall meeting. “GE was able to utilize all of these various loopholes, all of these various deductions—it’s legal,” Ryan said. Nine billion dollars of GE’s profits came overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. tax law. GE wasn’t taxed on $5 billion in U.S. profits because it utilized numerous deductions and tax credits, including tax breaks for investments in low-income housing, green energy, research and development, as well as depreciation of property. “I asked the GE tax officer, ‘How long was your tax form?’” Ryan said. “He said, ‘Well, we file electronically, we don’t measure in pages.’” Ryan asked for an estimate, which came back at a stunning 57,000 pages. When Ryan relayed the story at the townhall meeting in Janesville, there were audible gasps from the crowd.

GE Filed 57,000-Page Tax Return, Paid No Taxes on $14 Billion in Profits

General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn’t pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.

The fact that GE paid no taxes in 2010 was widely reported earlier this year, but the size of its tax return first came to light when House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) made the case for corporate tax reform at a recent townhall meeting. “GE was able to utilize all of these various loopholes, all of these various deductions—it’s legal,” Ryan said. Nine billion dollars of GE’s profits came overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. tax law. GE wasn’t taxed on $5 billion in U.S. profits because it utilized numerous deductions and tax credits, including tax breaks for investments in low-income housing, green energy, research and development, as well as depreciation of property.

“I asked the GE tax officer, ‘How long was your tax form?’” Ryan said. “He said, ‘Well, we file electronically, we don’t measure in pages.’” Ryan asked for an estimate, which came back at a stunning 57,000 pages. When Ryan relayed the story at the townhall meeting in Janesville, there were audible gasps from the crowd.

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manicchill:

turnstylenews:

[Audio Slideshow] Comedian Lewis Black At Occupy Wall Street

Comedian Lewis Black, most notable for his “Back In Black” segments on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” program, gave Turnstyle News an interview during the Occupy Wall Street protests on October 5, 2011. Standing on the sidelines of Foley Square, Black was virtually unnoticed by the revelers around him, smoking a cigarette and trying to capture the events for himself on his mobile phone.

Turnstyle reporter Charlie Foster caught up with Black and gathered his thoughts on the growing movement.

I’d almost be willing to bet money that not a single major media outlet will even attempt to interview Lewis Black about what’s going on right now. Here’s hoping somebody at The Daily Show knows/finds out and lobbies to get him on the air.

Love this man

(via nutopiancitizen)

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