Archived Story
Earned Income Tax Credit can really add up
Published 10:37pm Saturday, January 1, 2011You could be cheating yourself at tax time, even if you are not required to file a tax return.
The IRS estimates one in four taxpayers will overlook the Earned Income Tax Credit – or EITC – worth up to $5,600 or more this year.
EITC is a refundable tax credit, meaning you can get money back even if you owe no federal income tax or had tax withheld. And, if you owe tax, it can offset the amount you must pay.
The credit has been making lives of working people a little easier for over 35 years. Yet it remains little known, possible because people move into and out of eligibility as their income, marital status and parental statuses change.
Unlike other tax credits, EITC is based on a combination of factors such as source and amount of your income, or combined income if married, whether you have qualifying children and how many.
Although children are not required for eligibility, they increase the amount of your credit. Through new legislation, families with three or more children can get even more money.
No-cost income tax help is available in the River Cities. Volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites will compute your EITC and prepare your return at no charge. To locate a VITA site near you, please visit the United Way of the River Cities web site (www.UWRC.org) or call 304-523-8929 x 6.
Remember, if you are eligible, you must file a federal income tax return, even if you are not otherwise required to file, and you must specifically claim credit to get it. According to the IRS, rural and non-traditional families, such as grandparents raising grandchildren, are among those who most frequently overlook the credit. Today, more than ever, hard-working individuals and families can use a little extra help.
Ed Davis is the Financial Stability Partnership Coordinator for the United Way of the River Cities. He can be reached at 820 Madison Ave., Huntington, WV 25704 or by phone at 304-523-8929 ext. 6.
Oh, I found one other who spouts violent rhetoric:
They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun
“I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
Hit Back Twice As Hard”
“We talk to these folks… so I know whose *ss to kick.“
Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat
“Punish your enemies.”
“I’m itching for a fight.”
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Who said all that??
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Obama
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Any others?
Sure, Ted Rall:
A war is coming. At stake: our lives, the planet, freedom, living. The government, the corporations, and the extreme right are prepared to coalesce into an Axis of Evil. Are you going to fight back? Will you do whatever it takes, including taking up arms?…
I want to kick people in the *ss. To get them thinking. To get you thinking. I want you to understand the situation—your situation. I want you to see that revolt is a good idea, and that it has never been more necessary. I also want you to size up the opposition (both the government and 28 The Anti-American Manifesto the extreme right): They will never get weaker.We have as good a chance at taking them on as ever.
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Are you talking about Ted Ral the columnist? I’d never heard of him and had to Google the name.
Regardless, the comments you quoted him on are also over the line and playing on that “hate/fear” dynamic so
often used to manipulate the masses.
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Ted Kaczynski aka the Unibomber had a copy of Al Gore’s book “Earth in Balance” at the time of his arrest. I don’t recall any conservative outrage against Al Gore for the people killed by Kaczynski. I was more surprised that the book actually sold a copy.
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I never voted for Kaczynski anyway.
Didn’t vote for Gore either.
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Noesis; Jim Crawford’s last column was on Jan. 7th. “Which Constitution does Congress want”
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Thanks Mic
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“Good job picking that one up.”
Any other “liberals” (<.<) out there as bad as Kanjorski we need to know about?
Let us know and I'll make a personal note to never personally support them. Again, Good Job Noesis and Thanks.
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I wonder if Crawford wrote a column and it was rejected by the Tribune as being to wacky? It’s unusual for him to go this long without spouting off his nonsense. I hope he’s OK.
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Well, it looks like the democrats can’t blame Palin, especially since the shooter was a pot-smoking, flag-burning liberal. Not likely he was influenced by Palin’s crosshairs or for the calls to reload.
You notice that liberals get their panties ina wad over words like reload but are silent on these types of things:
“That Scott down there that’s running for governor of Florida,” Mr. Kanjorski(D) said. “Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him. He stole billions of dollars from the United States government and he’s running for governor of Florida. He’s a millionaire and a billionaire.
And yet… we are the violent ones…
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I haven’t been glued to the cable news channels lately and am not familiar with the Kanjorski quote, so I’ll take
your word on it Noesis. That comment is absolutely inappropriate, incendiary and anyone making a remark like
that shouldn’t be in politics or on TV.
Good job picking that one up.
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Well the left wing conservatives now are attacking the constitution so should we get rid of all it that that certain people don’t like? This is a another step toward socialism which is what some here are advocating but do it in suditle ways that seem innocent enought and then we have a society that mocks that of most socialist countries. Another attempt to destroy the consitution and go the way of those that like to employ intellectualism as a tool to push there agenda.
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Just because you don’t like an idea doesn’t mean it’s an attack on the constitution.
- We have the right to bear arms, but try that when going into the Law. county courthouse.
- We have freedom of speech, but see what happens if you choose to exercise it by waving
a sign at a political rally with big bold letters reading “KILL THE GOVERNOR!”
- We have freedom of assembly but see what happens if you exercised it by starting up
an Al-Quaeda support group / Osama Bin Laden fan club…
The point is that our freedoms and rights are and have always been tempered with reason
and common sense. The people who try to abuse and exploit these freedoms to give a
not-so-subtle message like “Hey, I wouldn’t mind it if Harry Reid got shot” (for example) are
neither patriotic nor are they even good citizens. They are like children who see how far they
can push the rules and boundaries on a constant basis.
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Rambo, I hope you find the tone of my reply to be polite. One of the things I’d like to see
in 2011 is for more of us, myself included, to be more respectful and thoughtful towards
each other. After all we’re all Americans and, as such, we all ultimately just want to see
our country succeed and prosper.
I’m not going to try so hard this year to push back if people just insist on calling me a liberal.
The fact is that I respect serious-minded conservatives who truly do put America first and,
I suspect, until the day comes when we have such a conservative run for President whom I
can support I will continue to be seen as a liberal by some here. I can live with that.
When the dialogue here is debased by squabbling I think it just turns away those moderates
who might otherwise stick around to read comments and maybe even post their own. I’d
like to see this become a place where more people feel comfortable without having to be
concerned about being mocked or belittled for expressing their beliefs and opinions.
I’m not directing this comment at any one person but, rather, at all of us who comment here
on a frequent basis. For my part, I don’t hold any animosity toward any of you but, rather, I
see you as friends and countrymen who often have views different than my own…and what
could be more American than that?
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“The Daily Kos did the same only with bullseyes in 2008 and just days before the shooting.”
———————————————————————
If the daily kos website did that, they’re in the wrong too. While I take it from your comment
that we can’t really see the illustration you’re talking about or any context that came with it, I
don’t mind just taking your word on this one.
Having said that, is anyone going to suggest that something posted on the kos website might
have the same impact as something put forth and pushed by Sarah Palin? Heck, she even
almost got Bristol the swing vote on that TV dance show. Furthermore, it’s not just Sarah. What
about Sharron Angle, the tea party candidate for Senate in NV, telling supporters that if they
didn’t get the right outcome on election day they might have to exercise “2nd amendment solutions?”
The second amendment? The right to bear arms?? Sure sounds to me like she could be talking
about shooting someone. Even if that wasn’t her intent…even if it wasn’t Sarah’s intent with her
cross-hairs map and “don’t retreat, reload” lines, the real point is that this is one OBVIOUS interpretation
of what they (and other right-wing leaders) both were saying. I believe that what these people
communicated is easily enough interpreted as “shoot a liberal” that there’s some complicity on
their part for the shooting in AZ…and more, if they happen to come.
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Sounds to me like you favor holding ones tongue from fear of influencing the weak minded. This is nothing but more political correctness. So much for freedom of speech, liberty etc.
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I favor good judgment being used in ensuring the things we say don’t “cross the line.” So I take it you don’t?
Then you would favor nationally recognized figures saying things like:
- Someone should shoot John Boehner
- It would be a good idea for someone to detonate a bomb at a Tea Party rally, or maybe…
- Some radical group should kidnap the children of a leading GOP congressman…
Is that what you’re FOR? And really, are you going to split hairs between clear inference and outright saying it?
If so, we see it very differently. I think anyone, let’s say, worthy of being on a cable news panel who says
anything like the examples I gave (or the crosshairs, etc.) are almost as guilty as the nuts they inspire.
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Almost forgot, in this case the “weak minded” happened to be on your side of the political aisle too.
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Let’s make sure Crawford includes this in his article:
Just days ago, the far left website posted a column — since removed — slamming the conservative Democrat. The author said Giffords was “dead to me” in the post’s title and comments. Daily Kos has mysteriously deleted that post in the wake of Saturday’s shooting tragedy. Giffords’s offense in the eyes of the Daily Kos left wing community was her relative moderation: she voted against Nancy Pelosi as speaker. Daily Kos put target practice bullseye on Giffords This is not the first time Giffords’s opposition to the Pelosi-Obama agenda put her under the crosshairs of the fringe left’s violent rhetoric. As uncovered by Hillbuzz, in June of 2008 Daily Kos launched its “targeting strategy” putting a “bullseye” on Giffords’s district. The mainstream media has thus far ignored Kos’s map, instead slamming Sarah Palin for a similar map with gun optic ‘crosshairs’ also targeting Giffords’s district last year.
He should also look into the history of the sheriff and the shooter. They do go back. The shooter’s mother is also a county employee.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Liberal website Daily Kos put ‘bullseye’ on ‘dead to me’ Giffords – National post-partisan | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/post-partisan-in-national/liberal-website-daily-kos-put-bullseye-on-dead-to-me-giffords#ixzz1AmoOvCPs
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“How long do you think it will take for Crawford to write an article blaming tea partiers for
shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords?”
—————————–
I wasn’t on this story over the weekend. Sorry, but the NFL playoffs is priority TV for me.
Now that I’m pretty much up to speed on this story, I think you’ve actually made a good
suggestion. I think Mr. Crawford should write an article on the shooting on Gabrielle Giffords.
He should include a discussion of what comes back when you Google “Gabrielle Giffords in cross-hairs.”
He should include the corresponding directive “don’t retreat…reload.”
Noesis, you posed the question before whether a psycho needs inspiration. Sometimes they don’t
but sometimes they do. If Manson was inspired by the White Album and if Hinkley Jr. was inspired to
shoot Reagan by his obsession with wanting to impress Jodie Foster, then it’s not too outrageous
to consider that a high-profile, polarizing figure like Sarah Palin promoting a map with gun cross-hairs
marking the officeholders she wants “taken out” would inspire Jared Loughner in his assassination
attempt / mass shooting in Arizona last Saturday.
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The Daily Kos did the same only with bullseyes in 2008 and just days before the shooting. Apparently he was upset that Giffords had voted against Pelosi for minority leader. Google it. Kos has removed the post since the shooting.
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So???
Are you trying to say that the 2/3 of all American companies paying no US income taxes were
either:
A. small businesses
B big corporations who lost money
You can just as easily Google “companies that made record profits” and find a multitude, and
that doesn’t even begin to skim the surface of the many more companies who made profits…but
not RECORD profits.
I don’t know why you’re shilling for big corporations unless you work for one and are simply being
a company guy. That is a position that I can relate to from personal experience but it doesn’t
change the facts. It is common for big corporations to make profits and pay no US income taxes.
They systematically do things like have their accountants funnel their profits through shell operations
in countries where they’re protected from paying taxes.
For a corporation, that’s not even an insult. Their primary directive is to maximize return on shareholder
dollar…period. That means if they can avoid paying taxes, they will. That means if they can increase
profits by bending the law, they will. Corporations have nothing in their “DNA” that calls for paying their
fair share in the country that made them rich. Just maximize profit…period. That’s their game.
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Airlines that filed Bankruptcy:
Trans World Airlines 10 January 2001
US Airways 11 August 2002
United Airlines 9 December 2002
Flash Airlines March 2004
US Airways 12 September 2004
Aloha Airlines 30 December 2004
Northwest Airlines 14 September 2005
Delta Air Lines 14 September 2005
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According to the CAO report, “Nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies and 68% of foreign corporations do not
pay federal income taxes”
To say that small businesses + companies with losses = 2/3 of all U.S. companies, that’s nonsense.
Remember, this study looked at the years 1998-2005, before the Bush recession kicked in and business was rocking.
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Still, that leaves a lot of the big companies paying
no taxes either.
——————
You mean like when you hear about GM or the airlines having record losses for the year? If you have losses, you don’t pay taxes…
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If, out of the nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies paying no federal income taxes, I’m glad
many of those are small businesses. Still, that leaves a lot of the big companies paying
no taxes either.
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Hey Indie, you left this part of the report out:
But many of the companies the report found had paid no tax were likely small businesses that pay other taxes. Generally, many small firms, because they do not have shareholders, are able to shift corporate income to individual income.
“Small businesses that are going to be liable for a lot of income tax are likely to use other tax forms so they only pay individual income taxes,” said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center
And phychos… do they really need inspiring?
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“NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies and 68% of foreign corporations
do not pay federal income taxes, according to a congressional report released Tuesday.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined samples of corporate tax returns filed between 1998
and 2005. In that time period, an annual average of 1.3 million U.S. companies and 39,000 foreign companies
doing business in the United States paid no income taxes – despite having a combined $2.5 trillion in revenue.”
As for Crawford, I have no idea what he may write. I don’t think the tea party is employing hit men but
some of the things they say and do may inspire a psycho. Let’s hope not, though.
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Indie, I’m confused. Other than GE, who are these big companies that are paying no taxes? Looking at the Forbes numbers, they are paying taxes on anywhere from 30% to 50% of their profit.
And I agree, we could probably sit down and have a beer together… as long as we didn’t talk politics.
As far as seeing Obama’s best… you’ll have to wait until 2012… when he’s on the campaign trail… That’s what he’s good at… flowery speeches…
Speaking of bets… how long do you think it will take for Crawford to write an article blaming tea partiers for shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords? There might be a problem with that though… suppossedly some girl that knows him and went to school with him says he’s a staunch liberal. But… we won’t no more for surre until later… besides, I thought all tea partiers were old white people? This guy was 22 years old.
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One more thing. Believe it or not, I am keeping my options completely open for 2016.
No surprise, I’m behind Obama 100% and believe he’s doing a good job and that we have yet to see his best.
However, If I had to put money on one candidate I’d vote for in 2016 right now, it would be Mike Bloomberg.
He might not be as conservative as you’d like, but he’s neither a democrat or a liberal.
I would even vote for someone more conservative if someone emerges from the GOP who’s sensible,
sober-minded and possessing a genuine vision for America that really makes sense. It’s can’t be JUST
to cut taxes and platitudes but give me someone with a real intellect and spine and I will be there to
support them.
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“Who’s the one saying that American companies don’t pay a single dime in federal income taxes?”
Nobody. I just said a lot of them do that…not all of them.
As for the smack, I was alluding more to your self-described “teasing” and poking fun at people you
determine to be “liberals.” My point was that if you feel that confident, let’s make it interesting.
I get it, though. You don’t want to so I’ll drop it.
For the record, I’d bet that if you and I actually sat down and talked like human beings it would be apparent
that neither of us are such a “bad guy.” I’m not suggesting we do that, just making the observation.
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I talk smack? Who’s the one saying that American companies don’t pay a single dime in federal income taxes… that they have offshore havens so they can hide all their profits?
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For all your bold talk, it’s apparent that you know what I know. Barack Obama will
be re-elected in 2012.
I laid down the challenge for you…loser leaves town…Obama wins in 2012 and “Noesis”
goes…Obama loses and “indieVoter” goes.
I wouldn’t have made this offer had you not made it a point to talk so much smack.
You say you won’t accept because you like having me around but to “tease” (your choice
of words, by the way) but, if (when) Obama wins you really won’t have any teasing left to
do.
Come on. Take the Pepsi challenge. If you don’t even have the courage of your convictions
to do so then it really doesn’t matter what else you have to say…you know that when America
speaks in 2012 they will prove what I’m saying.
If you won’t step up to the plate on a simple little thing like this then all those “Oh, Indie…” comments
are just hot air with no spine behind them.
So, if you really believe that America is going to prove you right in 2 years and put Obama out of
All in good fun, of course, my friend.
office this is your chance to prove it. If (when) you lose I’d like to go on record and request that
your new username be “Chicken Little.”
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Haha, keep on dancing. “The People” don’t care about your postulations. If the rate continues to drop they will
appreciate the hope and change that Obama has already and continues to deliver.
——————————-
LOL, Indie, you are starting to sound like Neo…. Whoohooo!!! The stock market went up by a point! It was all due to Obama! The people are rallying to Obama! Praise Obama!! I do the happy dance to Obama when the stock market goes up!
Google Huffington post: The real unemployment rate is high… and Raising…
“When both discouraged workers and the underemployed are considered in the unemployment rate, you end up with the U6 rate, or the “real” unemployment rate. For September, that rate increased from 16.7 to 17.1 percent.”
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From Forbes:
No. 1: Wal-Mart Stores
Sales: $401 billion
Pretax income: $20.9 billion
Income taxes: $7.1 billion
Tax rate: 34.2%
No. 2: ExxonMobil
Sales: $311 billion
Pretax income: $37.3 billion
Income taxes: $17.6 billion
Tax rate: 47%
No. 3: Chevron
Sales: $172 billion
Pretax income: $18.5 billion
Income taxes: $8 billion
Tax rate: 43%
No. 4: General Electric
Sales: $157 billion
Pretax income: $10.3 billion
Income taxes: (-$1.1 billion)
Tax rate: N/A
GE’s financial services unit, GE Capital, keeps the overall tax bill so low. Over the last two years, GE Capital has displayed an uncanny ability to lose lots of money in the U.S. and make lots of money overseas, where tax rates are lower. (GE… Arn’t they Obambi backers?)
No. 5: ConocoPhillips
Sales: $152 billion
Pretax income: $10 billion
Income taxes: $5.1 billion
Tax rate: 51%
ConocoPhillips paid $13 billion in taxes in 2008.
No. 6: AT&T
Sales: $123 billion
Pretax income: $19 billion
Income taxes: $6.2 billion
Tax rate: 32.4%
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OK Indie, now your turn… show me Obama’s long form Birth certificate.
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If you’re right, which you’re not, why don’t you list how much each of the top 10 companies paid in US income taxes
over the last 5 or 10 years?
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Dang, if you are going to keep on moving the target all over the place you better get me a shotgun
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Mincing words?
The title was “Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes”
Wouldn’t the title be more accurate saying:
The vast majority of companies pay income taxes every year.
Lets put it this way Indie. Say that you had 100 companies that made income tax paints for those 7 years. So, you would expect 700 income tax payments…
For that article to be true… 57% of companies miss a income tax payment…
You could still have 643 out of a possible 700 payments…
Hey Indie…. sounds like a liberal wrote the title:
“Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes”
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I didn’t notice you giving any numbers either. You’re guilty of the same thing you’re complaining about.
By the way, did you hear that jobless claims dropped this month and the unemployment rate dropped from 9.8 to 9.4%.
That’s better than anyone expected.
Obama had a 50% approval rating when the unemployment rate was almost 10%…unprecedented popularity, by the way.
Can you imagine how good his numbers will be if the unemployment rate continues to drop?
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Uh Indie… how can I use give numbers? I didn’t write the story. What do you think I am…. making stuff up? A liberal?
Unemployment dropped? That’s pretty amazing especially since the job rate barely increased. Most likely the drop was the same cause as it was in November… 260,000 people left the labor force and apparently stopped looking for work during the month — a sign they were discouraged by the poor prospects for finding a job.
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Haha, keep on dancing. “The People” don’t care about your postulations. If the rate continues to drop they will
appreciate the hope and change that Obama has already and continues to deliver.
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You’re mincing words to make a sympathetic case for corporations. The fact is that big corporations engage
in activities that ensure they pay no US income taxes even in years when they do make a profit. They just
allocate the profits to countries where they pay no taxes.
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Oh Indie, you are SOOOOOO silly… Did you notice that the article didn’t use ANY numbers… when they don’t use numbers, it’s miniscule. Don’t you think the article would have highlighted it if it was important?
You think they would have used something like: 97% of companies send their money offshore to pay lower tax rates!
There’s a reason Indie, they don’t tell you the number… they don’t want you to laugh…
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Actually, I heard about GE not paying federal income taxes from Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC which is, of course, owned
by GE. Given the circumstances I believe that to be a pretty credible source.
Google, you say? OK, go ahead and Google the following story from Reuters…
“Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes”
Like I said, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel folks.
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Indie said: Study says most corporations pay no U.S. income taxes”
Like I said, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel folks.
_________________________________________________
Actually Indie, I agree. Now, lets look what the title is based on: From the article… Did you even read it?:
“The Government Accountability Office said 72 percent of all foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2005.”
So, IF you lost money between 1998 and 2007, you didn’t make taxes… If you started a company, failed to make any money went bankrupt, you were part of the 57%…
So Indie… did you see anything that ALL companies pay no income taxes?
Yeah, Indie, I forgive you, I know you were tricked by the misleading title…
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You’re mincing words to make a sympathetic case for corporations. The fact is that big corporations engage
in activities that ensure they pay no US income taxes even in years when they do make a profit. They just
allocate the profits to countries where they pay no taxes.
Furthermore, they use their “big money” to help ensure that our tax laws allow them to get away with it.
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Indie: Did you know that many of the biggest corporations, GE and Exxon for example, pay absolutely no income
taxes? They set it up so all their profits are “technically” made outside the USA…Bermuda, I think…and completely sidestep paying ANY taxes here.
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Indie, Indie, Indie… did you even do a SIMPLE google search before making such silly statements?
You make no credible claims just parroting something you read on Huffpo. How about doing some reseach before you lose what little credibility you have remaining… I did find this from CNN:
Exxon posts record $11.68 billion profit
….In addition to making hefty profits, Exxon also had a hefty tax bill. Worldwide, the company paid $10.5 billion in income taxes in the second quarter, $9.5 billion in sales taxes, and over $12 billion in what it called “other taxes.”
So Indie… Exxon pays $32 BILLION in taxes in a single quarter and yet…. they are scheming to hide their money so they don’t have to pay taxes!!!!!
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight…….. What flavor kool-aide are you drinking?
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Indie, sorry if the truth hurts…
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“Obviously Indie, as with most liberals, you have no idea what you are talking about.”
The only thing that’s obvious is that you’re obsessed with posting multiple replies to every comment
I make and get as close as you can to violating the terms and conditions here in your insults.
If you don’t understand or recognize that US corporations set up entities in places like the Caribbean
for the express purpose of US income tax avoidance, you’re the one in the dark.
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Given that we give corporations the rights of a person, a study was done to psychologically profile exactly
what kind of person they are. After careful examination of a myriad of considerations, it was determined that if
a corporation is a person they would be diagnosed as “psychotic.” This is all in a documentary called, simply
enough, “The Corporation.” You can watch it free online. Check it out at Google Video.
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LOL, I’m willing to bet money on the fact that the study results were already written up before a “study” was ever done. Would you be willing to bet money that the author’s of the study were all liberals Indie?
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OK Indie, It’s obvious you have no idea how companies work overseas, so, here’s a little primer… Say that you are Coke and you want to expand overseas. You buy a plant in France and start making Coke. You make $10 million the first year and since you are located in France, you pay the 33% corporate tax. You are left with 7 million left over. You can A) reinvest it, buying new plants and expand or B) Bring the money back into the United States where it will be taxed a second time.
That’s the overseas tax “break” that the democrats always whine about. They don’t like the fact that overseas companies don’t have to have the profits taxed a second time until that money comes back into the United States.
Only in the United States do we tax overseas companies a second time. Other countries just allow them to be taxed by the country they are doing business in.
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So Indie, are you saying that GE should pay taxes on losses? And Exxon’s claim is disputed? Yeah, by moonbat liberals who don’t care what the truth is, just what they think it should be.
And WTF are you talking about “dummy, shell operation”? Dufuss, do you really think they would be paying billions in taxes to other countries on “shell corporations? here’s a dummy GE Corporation:
New york Times: As sales for U.S. firms like GE go abroad, so do the managers
…So in 2004, he moved GE Healthcare from Wisconsin to outside London, the home of Amersham, a company GE had just bought.
Clearly, he liked the results. GE now has research centers in Munich, Shanghai and Bangalore, India. The unit that sells equipment and services to oil and natural gas companies is based in Florence, Italy…
Obviously Indie, as with most liberals, you have no idea what you are talking about.
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GE and Exxon were merely a couple of examples out of many big corporations who pay no US income taxes.
It’s no consolation that GE pays taxes in other countries and Exxon’s claim is disputed.
Again, the important fact is that these corporations can set up a dummy, shell operation in the Caribbean and
claim all their profits are made there, freeing them from paying any income taxes here in the US.
If you or I tried to do that, and I’m admittedly not a tax expert, I suspect we’d get put in jail.
In fact, if we took it to the logical extreme none of us would pay income taxes and there would be no revenue
left. We wouldn’t even be able to fund the military.
With this tax chicanery it’s no wonder we have the budgetary struggles that we do. These corporations
enjoy all the benefits of the US and that helps them reach the point where they are making ridiculous amounts
of money. They shouldn’t be able to turn around and stiff America out of the fair share of taxes they
rightfully should be paying.
Really, this is just a part of the bigger problem of corporations in general. We’ve allowed them to claim the legal
status of a person, and the rights that go with it, but then we give them a whole set of other advantages that
even individual people don’t have. When it really comes down to it, corporations have one mission, to maximize
return on the shareholders’ dollar. There’s no “ethics” in that concept. Even obeying the law is only a loosely
followed concept. In other words, if they can make more money by breaking the law and then paying the
settlement…that’s what they do. That’s what maximizes the shareholders’ dollar.
Given that we give corporations the rights of a person, a study was done to psychologically profile exactly
what kind of person they are. After careful examination of a myriad of considerations, it was determined that if
a corporation is a person they would be diagnosed as “psychotic.” This is all in a documentary called, simply
enough, “The Corporation.” You can watch it free online. Check it out at Google Video.
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Oh and Indie… about GE. The reason they paid zero taxes… From CNN: GE: 7,000 tax returns, $0 U.S. tax bill
GE had plenty of earnings last year — just not in the United States. For tax purposes, the company’s U.S. operations lost $408 million.
But GE isn’t exactly escaping all tax-related pain: The company paid almost $23 billion in taxes to governments around the world from 2000 to 2009, Eisele said.
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And Indy, I don’t have a problem with short term assistance, what I’m against is using it as a way of life… unless that person is truly disabled.
Look at Social Security… I read somewhere that half the people on Social Security are below the retirement age…
Some of which is when a parent dies, the child gets social security until they turn what 18? I can see the need but… say the father died and the mother remarried… does the government really need to continue with the payments? On the downside, if SS payments were taken away if the surviving parent remarried, it may cut down on that parent marrying which isn’t a good thing…
Don’t know the answers, I just know we are spending way too much…
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Except Indy the person who said Exxon paid no taxes admits he’s wrong:
What the financial statement says is that ExxonMobil, in 2009, after a handful of deferrals, recorded a total U.S. income tax benefit (i.e., a refund) of $46 million. Next to this, it shows total non-U.S. income taxes of $15.165 billion.
My mistake was in thinking that these figures somehow reflected actual tax benefits and liabilities. So what we should have written was that ExxonMobil “recorded” no U.S. income taxes for 2009 instead of “paid.” All you re-bloggers out there, please note the clarification. Mea culpa.
And for all you commenters outraged that Exxon isn’t paying taxes in the U.S., don’t worry, it is. Our article only focused on income taxes, but it’s worth noting that the 10-k also records $7.7 billion in other taxes in the U.S. (like sales taxes) and more than $50 billion of other taxes and duties paid (I mean recorded) overseas.
To view the whole article, Google: Forbes Exxon Says It Does Pay U.S. Income Taxes
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“how else can I get back the $30,000 I pay in taxes every year.”
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Congrats on pulling down a $85-90K salary but you should look into getting a better accountant.
Did you know that many of the biggest corporations, GE and Exxon for example, pay absolutely no income
taxes? They set it up so all their profits are “technically” made outside the USA…Bermuda, I think…and
completely sidestep paying ANY taxes here.
Is it any wonder we have such problems with balancing a budget? ZERO income taxes paid by the biggest,
richest companies in the history of the planet???
Understanding this, I also question the thought process of those who would say that US tax rates do or may
result in companies not want to locate here. It doesn’t matter. They don’t pay any taxes anyway.
YES, I agree we need to be prudent with our spending and cut out waste anywhere we can. The one thing
I differ with some on is the idea that “waste is that which does not impact me.” It’s easy to be against medicaid
and food stamps if you’re pulling down a hefty income. It’s easy to be against social security if you’re young
and think you’ll never see a dime of it yourself. Similarly, it would be easy to be FOR a huge tax increase for
the rich if you are not rich yourself. By huge, I mean Eisenhower-era levels like 50 or 60% top tax brackets and
not the 36.9% (pre-Bush) rate we’ve been debating about whether or not to return to.
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Except Indy the person who said Exxon paid no taxes admits he’s wrong:
What the financial statement says is that ExxonMobil, in 2009, after a handful of deferrals, recorded a total U.S. income tax benefit (i.e., a refund) of $46 million. Next to this, it shows total non-U.S. income taxes of $15.165 billion.
My mistake was in thinking that these figures somehow reflected actual tax benefits and liabilities. So what we should have written was that ExxonMobil “recorded” no U.S. income taxes for 2009 instead of “paid.” All you re-bloggers out there, please note the clarification. Mea culpa.
And for all you commenters outraged that Exxon isn’t paying taxes in the U.S., don’t worry, it is. Our article only focused on income taxes, but it’s worth noting that the 10-k also records $7.7 billion in other taxes in the U.S. (like sales taxes) and more than $50 billion of other taxes and duties paid (I mean recorded) overseas.
http://blogs.forbesDOTcom/energysource/2010/04/07/exxon-says-it-does-pay-u-s-income-taxes/
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caglewis, when 47% of the people end up paying no federal income taxes then yes, it is wealth redistribution aka, welfare. And as far as claiming credits, of course I do, how else can I get back the $30,000 I pay in taxes every year.
The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.
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Whoops, that should be some of the $30,000 I pay in taxes.
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Do you get the “earned” part of it? You have to be working and have earned income to qualify.
There are many tax breaks, exemptions, credits, etc available. Do you search out and take advantage of all of them for which you qualify when filing your tax return? Of course you do! If you think all tax deductions/credits are by definition “welfare”, then absolutely claim no deductions on your own return because “taking welfare” is BAD, right?
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Noesis,
It is welfare. They just keep changing the verbage like they always do.
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I don’t have a problem with people who actually pay federal income taxes getting their money back but the IRS should not be used for welfare… to pay people money who put nothing into it. That’s just wealth redistribution.
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