Thread: Article on G.E.'s tax burden and how they avoid it...

Big deal. At least they're employing people which helps the economy.

It's not like they're being given money by the government just to keep afloat like some car companies.

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Big deal. At least they're employing people which helps the economy.

It's not like they're being given money by the government just to keep afloat like some car companies.

so if all huge corps like GE don't pay their Federal taxes that sits okay with you because they employ people?

Sure beats them going to another country to set up shop.

Of course they shouldn't pay zero however.

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Sure beats them going to another country to set up shop.

Of course they shouldn't pay zero however.

What do you feel is a fair %?

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Sure beats them going to another country to set up shop.

Of course they shouldn't pay zero however.

lol

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

What do you feel is a fair %?

Eh I don't know. But I wonder what how much better the economy and the rate of unemployment would be if big companies got a huge tax break.

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Eh I don't know. But I wonder what how much better the economy and the rate of unemployment would be if big companies got a huge tax break.

well GE does not need a tax break, they just don't pay any.

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Eh I don't know. But I wonder what how much better the economy and the rate of unemployment would be if big companies got a huge tax break.

it's already been done with the "American Jobs Creation Act of 1994" and it didn't create any jobs...

Bill Summary & Status - 108th Congress (2003 - 2004) - H.R.4520 - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

and here are some of the results:

"While G.E.’s declining tax rates have bolstered profits and helped the company continue paying dividends to shareholders during the economic downturn, some tax experts question what taxpayers are getting in return. Since 2002, the company has eliminated a fifth of its work force in the United States while increasing overseas employment. In that time, G.E.’s accumulated offshore profits have risen to $92 billion from $15 billion."

And the cost to the US taxpayer almost 1 Trillion dollars
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=6007&type=0

the unfortunate thing is that if they did pay taxes, they'd then leave our country and employ elsewhere.....i'm all for tax breaks to companies who keep jobs here, but i also know how much GE/NBC/MSNBC conglomerate is in barry hussein's pockets with contributions thru many different avenues

Originally Posted by sprayherup

Big deal. At least they're employing people which helps the economy.

It's not like they're being given money by the government just to keep afloat like some car companies.

Where?

Originally Posted by irish_2003

the unfortunate thing is that if they did pay taxes, they'd then leave our country and employ elsewhere.....i'm all for tax breaks to companies who keep jobs here, but i also know how much GE/NBC/MSNBC conglomerate is in barry hussein's pockets with contributions thru many different avenues

They already do leave and it hasn't stopped.

G.E. is the nation’s largest corporation. Its chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, is the leader of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

This is what Halibutan was to Bush....face it, they are both the same.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Where?

GE Citizenship | Our Priorities | Our People | Workforce Information

Looks like they are quite proud of leaving the US. Perhaps we should just kick them out all together, help them along. Show up at the residences of senior management with Two Men and a Truck, pack up what they can in 30 minutes and ship them and their shit out. Cancel their citizenship as well.

Originally Posted by Zaphod

Looks like they are quite proud of leaving the US. Perhaps we should just kick them out all together, help them along. Show up at the residences of senior management with Two Men and a Truck, pack up what they can in 30 minutes and ship them and their shit out. Cancel their citizenship as well.

most of there business is in "financial services" anyway they hardly manufacture anything today...they can surely go to another country and leach off their government...

This is why a flat tax is appropriate.

10-15% for all citizens and companies.

I owe $53,000 to Obama and $11,000 to the state (in addition to what I properly took out on my personal income last year) next month because according to the BS tax code my company supposedly made $200,000 in profit last year. The fucking joys of a S Corporation.

I've hired 3 FT and 1 PT employee since the recession/depression began and I wonder where my tax break is?

Originally Posted by UA_Iron

This is why a flat tax is appropriate.

10-15% for all citizens and companies.

10% citizens and 20% corporations, I could go 7%/15% but that will never happen.

Originally Posted by Big Pimpin

I owe $53,000 to Obama and $11,000 to the state (in addition to what I properly took out on my personal income last year) next month because according to the BS tax code my company supposedly made $200,000 in profit last year. The fucking joys of a S Corporation.

I've hired 3 FT and 1 PT employee since the recession/depression began and I wonder where my tax break is?

They're too busy giving GE billions of dollars in tax cuts, they can't afford to give you an extra $50-100k. Actually, they probably can, you just can't sweeten the pot enough to make them care. It sure is nice of you to provide 4 new jobs though, compared to the thousands GE eliminated.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

10% citizens and 20% corporations, I could go 7%/15% but that will never happen.



They're too busy giving GE billions of dollars in tax cuts, they can't afford to give you an extra $50-100k. Actually, they probably can, you just can't sweeten the pot enough to make them care. It sure is nice of you to provide 4 new jobs though, compared to the thousands GE eliminated.

Great. My CPA's answer is capital investments because of the accelerated depreciation. So I have a $20,000 machine being made, I'm going to build another 7000 sq ft steel whse, I ordered a $4000 line conditioner yesterday for my offices and might just buy a new pickup this year. Might as well invest in myself taking write offs while helping others keep their jobs in the process, instead of giving it to the assholes in DC to waste by lobbing missiles into Libya for no fuckin apparent reason. The nice part is I can take all the depreciation this tax year vs writing off a $10,000 forklift over 18 years (or whatever) like years past.

Originally Posted by Big Pimpin

Great. My CPA's answer is capital investments because of the accelerated depreciation. So I have a $20,000 machine being made, I'm going to build another 7000 sq ft steel whse, I ordered a $4000 line conditioner yesterday for my offices and might just buy a new pickup this year. Might as well invest in myself taking write offs while helping others keep their jobs in the process, instead of giving it to the assholes in DC to waste by lobbing missiles into Libya for no fuckin apparent reason. The nice part is I can take all the depreciation this tax year vs writing off a $10,000 forklift over 18 years (or whatever) like years past.

See, you should be getting the tax cut, not GE.

Originally Posted by Big Pimpin

I owe $53,000 to Obama and $11,000 to the state (in addition to what I properly took out on my personal income last year) next month because according to the BS tax code my company supposedly made $200,000 in profit last year. The fucking joys of a S Corporation.

I've hired 3 FT and 1 PT employee since the recession/depression began and I wonder where my tax break is?

Clarification...all politicians give small business the dick while they give big corps the tit.

Get a good tax guy and rape the system, you can hire a guy on welfare and get a tax break.....he'll probably steal from you but then insurance takes care of that.
Learned a few things from my Jewish/ Italian bosses.

It has been known for quite some time that GE whores itself to whomever is in power and gets away with it time and again. They contribute nearly equal to both parties when 'warranted', have their fingers quite deep in carbon credits and renewable green technologies (a great way to whisper in a presidents ear, along with contributuons) Nothing wrong with being green wherever possible, but it has become politicized. Sad.

March 25, 2011 3:00 PM

White House defends embrace of G.E. CEO despite report company didn't owe taxes in 2010

In January, President Obama named General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, an economic advisory board focused on job creation.


In his State of the Union address that same month, meanwhile, he called for the closure of corporate tax loopholes in conjunction with a lowering of the corporate tax rate, which stands at 35 percent.


"Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries," he said. "Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense. It has to change."

Mr. Obama's choice of Immelt came under scrutiny Friday in the wake of a front-page story in the New York Times reporting that despite $14.2 billion in worldwide profits - including more than $5 billion from U.S. operations - GE did not owe taxes in 2010.

In fact, the story said, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt applauds at right during President Barack Obama's visit to the birthplace of the General Electric Co., to showcase a new GE deal with India and to announce a restructured presidential advisor, Friday, Jan. 21, 2011, in Schenectady, N.Y.
(Credit: AP)
G.E. subsequently pointed out what it says is a significant flaw in the story: That the Times did not take into account the impact of its GE Capital losses in the financial crisis. G.E. said that if you exclude GE Capital its tax rate has been about 21 percent.

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."

Carney went on to make the case for corporate tax reform, noting that companies pay "armies of tax lawyers to understand how it works and to take advantage of the various loopholes that exist."

He stressed, however, that he was "not addressing this specific company because I don't know independently about that." (According to the Times, "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.")

Carney was asked why, if the president wants corporate tax reform, he appointed "to the head of the Competitiveness and Jobs Council a person who is now the poster child for abusing the system to get out of paying taxes."

"The jobs and competitiveness council is designed for just that," Carney responded. "And he has brought together a lot of voices on that. And he wants to hear the opinions of every member of that council. And we have said, with regard to questions about other members who have been appointed, that the president obviously doesn't want a council of people who agree with him on every issue; he wants to hear diversity of opinion."

"In the end, the decisions that are made about which policy to pursue on corporate tax reform will be the president's decision and his policy," he added.

Carney said later that Mr. Obama continues to have faith in Immelt to run the council.

Overall, the Times notes, the share of U.S. taxes paid by corporations has fallen from 30 percent of federal revenue in the 1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.