In 2009 Exxon Mobile ranked second on the Fortune 500, with profits of $19 billion, but paid absolutely nothing in federal income tax. Instead, they received a $156 million rebate from the IRS. Last year the 10 most profitable U.S. corporations paid an average tax rate of just nine percent, as reported by the Huffington Post.
The best way to balance the budget and cut the deficit is to pass legislation that will require corporations to pay the same tax rate the American people are forced to pay. At the least, corporations should pay a minimum federal income tax of 25 percent.
Washington wants to raise taxes on the American people, but refuses to propose closing loopholes that allow corporations to get away with not paying their fair share of taxes. It's ludicrous.
America is a democracy right? So what do you think the American people would prefer, cuts in Social Security and Medicare or legislation that would insure corporations pay the same tax rates the American people have to pay? I think we all know the answer to that question.
Corporations want to be treated as individuals when it comes to political contributions but not when it comes to paying their taxes. I think we should change that. It's the most logical and reasonable solution to balancing the budget and reducing the deficit.
Does it make sense to you to raise taxes on "the rich," and allow America's richest corporations to get away with paying single digit taxes? No, it doesn't.
Notice no one in Washington is even proposing legislation that would require corporations to pay the same tax rates the American people must pay. Corporations have spent billions of dollars lobbying congress and the White House to buy legislation that has allowed them to avoid paying their fair share of federal income tax.
America is essentially bankrupt. It's time to take radical action to cut the deficit and cutting Social Security and Medicare is not the way to do it. Millions of Americans worked for decades and earned the benefits they deserve from Social Security and Medicare. Cutting those benefits for millions of retired Americans while allowing the nation's largest and most successful corporations to get away with not paying their fair share of taxes would be the pinnacle of corruption in government and a clear signal America is not a democracy, but a nation where corporate giants own our government.
If the president and congress cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, it will be undeniable proof that corporate giants can buy legislation that allows them to cheat America out of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes while the American people see their taxes raised and their benefits slashed.