2008-2010, 30 Big Corporations Spent More Lobbying Washington Than They Paid In Income Tax

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


I have answered them over and over, just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean I haven't.
GE Paid: -4,737,000,000 in the years 2008-2010 more than one source I have linked here makes this claim. Take it up with them, I'm done with your sillyness.

reply to post by Kali74


Y'know what? That you have been getting "flamed" by multiple sources means that you have hit a nerve, and urgently need to be "discredited". Keep strong. You have the truth on your side.

reply to post by randomname

if they'd pay more, you'd pay less. if government wasted less, everybody pays less.

since the supreme court ruled corporations are people, they should pay the same rate as a person in that tax bracket.

Pretty good analysis but,

The government will only spend more when they take in more.

Tax rates are not for the benefit of the majority.

The one thing nobody has ever accused corporations and Congress of is being normal and purveyors of a "perfect world" !!!

Psychopaths and maniacs never make sense except to their own self proclaimed agendas.

What is the corporate tax rate anyway?

reply to post by xuenchen


Bueller ...

Bueller .......

What about all that grant money anyway ?

reply to post by Kali74


Wow. General Electric (GE) got nearly a 5 billion dollar tax return? Obviously that takes "write-offs" to a whole new level. I'm impressed!

*Golfclap*

If that doesn't scream of corruption all by itself, we're simply out of luck.

Seriously?
Strype

reply to post by xuenchen


Sorry lol.
It does almost seems like they were paid to shrink their workforce.

CNSNews.com asked a GE spokesperson if the company contested Recovery.gov’s representation that GE had received 14 stimulus grants worth $24.9 million, and also whether the company now employed more or fewer workers as a result of receiving the grants.

I think their workforce has decreased even more since 2009.

As far as I am concerned, if you own it, you pay for it all, and those corporations and financial institutions own our government via buying our politicians.

They should be paying 100% of the tax in this country

Don't like it? Then quit buying our government.

reply to post by Kali74


Stick to your guns Kali. seen it before on ATS and will see it more

Another point that was not brought up from what i have read, be it tax refunds or tax rebates ,doesn't that technically mean the corporations get to pocket that income they didn't have to use on paying taxes? Hence it would be considered a gain in profit. or am i wrong in this assumption? Plus they get money in the form of grants from the government to just downsize their workforce? So in reality they did get a ton of money from the government!

reply to post by nikobellic


Yes exactly. No matter how you slice it these companies are doing worse than just not paying their fair share, they're profitting off the system they are short changing and then crying how they must be protected because they're job creators and as soon as they have the money in hand they sign the pink slips anyway. I don't know why some in this thread are being so obtuse when the truth is so obvious. Outright theft is what those millions of dollars spent on lobbying are allowing them to do.

We see similar with the Banks they commit fraud to make loans available to people who are not qualified to receive them and then they also do stupid things with money, they act recklessly, our government turns around and bails them out but does absolutely nothing to protect the families being evicted from their home, sometimes even when the owners have kept up with payments or even outright own the home they're are being evicted from. But yes it's always the victims fault never the companies that buy favor in our government.

I think this thread has been railroaded away from the real issue here, which is that no matter what amount of money that corporations are paying or being paid through federal taxes, the significant number is the amount being spent on lobbying. This figure has little to do with taxes, private money becoming public money or vice versa; it is about private money being spent on the manipulation of the government, public policy.

The problem is the conflict of interest for government representatives; these men and women work for a few weeks at a time, then they go on extended vacations (and I'm sure there are plenty of threads already dedicated to that ridiculous behavior). Since their time in session is brief, every second they spend listening to lobbyists and accepting legal bribes is a second they are not spending on figuring out what direction the rest of the country would like to go in. It is basically selling your attention to the highest bidder.

PrimalRed obviously is against paying income tax, and in that I agree. We are now wasting our money on income taxes, which apparently have little or no sway on our representatives' decisions; perhaps what we should do instead of paying income tax is to instead use that money to collectively hire lobbyists whom will bribe politicians to make responsible decisions based on what the majority of the country wants, rather than just a handful of corporations. But then why not just protest the government if you have that level of support?

Anyway this thread was NOT about how federal corporate taxes are calculated, and I think that is really trivial compared to the point that was being made. The amount of money being legally spent on lobbying and bribery is the problem. Can we talk about that?

Stop bashing the corporations! They're the ones that create jobs and allow people to live the American dream!
Place the blame accordingly....on those selfish elderly people who want a $30 raise in their monthly social security benefits. Now THAT adds up!

reply to post by Kali74


Yeah thats the sad thing now a days. money has more value than a human. The more money you have the easier it is to do what ever the hell you want with no repercussions what so ever.It's a shame that these companies are allowed to get away with this wanton destruction of our economy. Also it just goes to show you if you throw enough money at the government they turn a blind eye to what the company is doing, thats why they can and will continue to spend more lobbying Washington than paying taxes.

reply to post by Kali74


I posted a story / rant today on Einsteins and Idiots. That is very fitting to this topic.
Forgive me for not just pasting it here, its rather long.

Here is the Link to that story

99.9% of those holding a federal public office have broken constitutional law and should be removed from office.
Period

Originally posted by Mutant

Originally posted by PrimalRed
reply to post by PrimalRed

 

They keep a lot of their money overseas and out of the country, why should they pay an American tax on foreign business. 1/2 of their workforce is not even in America anymore.

If I live, work, and spend all my money overseas but remain a US citizen, I STILL have to pay US income tax!

you should really look into getting a job overseas too

Originally posted by PrimalRed
Those two numbers do not really have anything to do with each other. Should we live in a society where tax is the largest expense?

edit on 7-12-2011 by PrimalRed because: (no reason given)

Largest expense? Those look like negative expenses to me.

They pay less than nothing in taxes, and influence the lawmakers to keep their loopholes. It's a vicious cycle that needs to stop.

reply to post by jessejamesxx


You should really read the whole thread...

I really wish millionaires and billionaires paid their fair share.

Even if we had a "Flat" tax system in this country, these corporate morons would still find a loophole or be granted by the politicians they buy out to pay less than the common man or woman.

reply to post by SeventhSeal


Define "fair share". Why should society collectively punish those who produce more? To do so is also to reward those who contribute nothing.
How would you feel if you got paid less than the guys who worked less than you, then all the guys who only worked 2 hours a week banded together and told the boss that they demand that you take a pay cut because it is not "fair" that you get paid for working more than them.

Paying a negative tax when your profit is in the billions is most definitely not a fair share. Personally, though I think many would agree, I don't think anyone is saying that the rich need to take care of the rest of us. What we are saying is that they need to stop exploiting us and exploiting capitalism and the "system" but it is screwing those of us who do not make billions. It's really not that complicated, it's really not that hard to see what is going and I'm truly stunned that because some people dislike a movement speaking against, they will choose to deny reality.

The fact that these corporations are spending millions per year lobbying while paying negative taxes (rebate no matter how you slice it) is essentially the same as us taxpayers paying them to continually rob us blind.