Corporate Income Tax Rates 2011
Corporate Income Tax Rates 2011
With Taxpayer Subsidies Amounting to $4 Billion a Year, Big Oil Pays No Federal Income Tax
I received an email from Whitehouse.gov the other day, informing me that large oil companies such as ExxonMobil have reported another big-profit quarter for the beginning of 2011. That didn’t surprise me, though it didn’t do much for my mood, either. The next bit of information did open my eyes: U.S. taxpayers subsidize large gas and oil industries to the tune of $4 billion each year, even as their profits soar after gouging customers at the gas pump (this last bit was my commentary, not theirs). Obama is trying to persuade Congress to eliminate these subsidies, though our elected officials don’t seem to be chomping at the bit to do so.
Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, notes on his website that ExxonMobil paid absolutely no federal income taxes on $19 billion of 2009 profits and, get this, actually received a tax rebate of $156 million. How does one go about getting a multi-million dollar tax rebate on a tax payment of $0? Become a huge oil and gas conglomerate, it seems. To be fair, other oil companies also enjoyed similar tax holidays. Chevron, for instance, was handed a $19 million refund last year on $10 billion of profit made in 2009 and Valero Energy got itself a refund of $157 million.
Nor are energy companies the only giant corporations to benefit from Uncle Sam’s large-scale largess. Goldman-Sachs, one of the authors of the 2008 financial meltdown, paid a mere 1.1% tax rate on a profit of $2.3 billion (don’t forget the billions in bailout funds, too). Citigroup, another beneficiary of bailout money, paid no federal income tax on over $4 in profits. Carnival Cruise Lines, like Goldman-Sachs, also paid 1.1% of income on profits of $11 billion.
Amazingly, politicians are reluctant to reverse these tax breaks or eliminate subsidies, despite the glaring inequality of the richest being subsidized by the poorest. Those against changing the status quo claim that jobs will be lost and prices will rise if these corporate giveaway programs are decreased. Of course, energy prices are rising daily and the jobs picture has been dreary for the last three years, but never mind. They are not inclined to change things, for some reason. What could that reason be? Perhaps large political contributions by the very corporations residing on Easy Street?
Congressman Sanders is one of the few politicians calling for changes to this ridiculously inequitable situation. He suggests not only closing the tax loopholes for the big boys and repealing the subsidies for the gas and oil industries, but also instituting a 5.4% tax on millionaires. At a time when this country is facing a $14 trillion deficit, these simple changes make perfect sense. Unfortunately, history shows that these concepts will never gain traction in Washington. Kudos to Bernie Sanders for trying, anyway.
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