Corporate responsibility

Four easy laws to enact to make corporations pay their fair share in taxes to the country that makes them their profit. They are as follows:

1. End net loss carryover. This means that currently businesses can carry up to 80 percent of operating losses from the previous tax year…. WHAT????

So, basically you figure out how to show $1million dollar operating loss in 2020, not pay taxes that year, and you start 2021 with a -$800,000 tax write off on your tax bill. You don’t think corporations don’t have accountants that can figure out how to maximize this loophole? About 20 percent of profitable businesses paid no tax because of this in 2012.

2. Require business in this country to pay taxes in this country, at the revenue percentage generated in this country. Corporations set up shops overseas in friendlier tax countries and report an inaccurate amount of their revenue and profit in those countries. Doing this would currently generate about $80 billion a year if this “profit shifting” scheme was stopped. The big threat is these companies pull out of the US. This country is the biggest market in the world and invented the world’s current economic system. If we let some big corporations go, in our country five new companies will spring up to take over that role domestically, ultimately provide more jobs, and the best one or two will become a competitor on the world stage in short order to the original company. They know that- so it will never happen. It’s a very hollow threat.

3. End charitable donations as a tax write off for corporations. I have never understood the aversion to paying the federal government over a charity- if you think about it, taxes are really a donation to the country’s largest charity as it provides for the poor, guarantees defense, educates children, etc. etc. etc. When you realize that corporations can write off 10 percent of its taxable income (*income, not profit) and many like to set up not for profit companies to donate to, which can have CEOs that make on par with typical (“profitable”) businesses. Seems a good way to pay your buddies a nice salary and avoid paying your taxes.

4. Demand payback of federal subsidies by profitable business. Yes, the federal government needs to give subsidies to encourage new technology and investment. But a smart company will do that already to maintain an edge in our quickly evolving capitalistic system. A subsidy to a profitable business simply becomes the government unfairly handing profits to that specific business. As an example-Cargill is the largest farm corporation in the world, and reported a profit of $3.81 billion (yes, I spelled that correctly- it’s a b) on $176 billion in revenue. The family that started this company claims 21 billionaires. Do you think it’s fair they’ve collected $164 million in subsidies since the year 2000? And another $5 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and bail outs? If you do, I bet you are one of 21 people who feel this way. On the plus side, for this large government investment we get a company that is known as the leader of deforestation, pollution, climate change, has been charged with supporting child trafficking, child labor, union busting, and food contamination. There is zero reason to subsidize this company, unless it’s to support their growing lobbying firm in DC. Then it makes sense. 

(If this upsets you, don’t google Boeing.)