Corporate Taxes
ITEP’s corporate tax research examines the tax practices of Fortune 500 companies. Besides its corporate study on average effective tax rates paid by the nation’s largest, most profitable corporations, throughout the year, ITEP produces research on subjects such as offshore cash holdings, tax haven abuse, executive stock options and other tax loopholes.
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blog May 4, 2017 Apple: A Case Study in Why a Tax Holiday for Offshore Cash is Indefensible
The Apple corporation made waves earlier this week with its disclosure that its worldwide cash now exceeds $250 billion. Less noticed was a separate disclosure on Wednesday that the company’s… -
blog April 27, 2017 President Trump’s Corporate Tax Outline: At Least He Didn’t Use a Napkin
The most complimentary thing that can be said about the corporate tax changes outlined by President Trump earlier this week is that they weren’t scribbled on a napkin. Unlike supply-side… -
blog April 25, 2017 Does a 15 Percent Corporate Tax Rate Sound Low? For Dozens of Major Corporations, Maybe Not
President Donald Trump has promised to release new details Wednesday on what he says could be “the biggest tax cut we’ve ever had.” While much is unclear about the shape… -
blog April 21, 2017 The Trump Administration Should Not Reopen Offshore Loopholes Closed by Recent Regulations
A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday asks that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin review significant tax regulations issued in 2016. The broader context of the order… -
report April 13, 2017 Fifteen (of Many) Reasons We Need Corporate Tax Reform
Profitable Fortune 500 companies in a range of economic sectors have been remarkably successful in manipulating the tax system to avoid paying even a dime in tax on billions of dollars in U.S. profits. This ITEP report examines a select, diverse group of 15 corporations’ tax situations to shed light on the widespread nature of corporate tax avoidance. As a group, these companies paid no federal income tax on $21 billion in profits in 2016, and they paid almost no federal income tax on $111 billion in profits over the past five years. All but one received federal tax rebates in 2016, and almost all paid exceedingly low rates over five years.
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blog April 7, 2017 How to Shut Down Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance, Full Stop
A new bill introduced this week by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), the Tax Fairness and Transparency Act, would rip out the offshore corporate tax avoidance system by its roots. This… -
blog April 6, 2017 Two New Bills Would Plug Major Loopholes in Our Offshore Corporate Tax System
A new pair of bills introduced by Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) this week would crack down on loopholes that allow corporations and individuals to avoid paying their fair share in… -
press release March 31, 2017 New Analysis Compares Tax Rates Paid by Companies Lobbying for/against Border Adjustment Tax
An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis finds that, on average, companies that are opposed to the Border Adjustment Tax pay higher tax rates than a coalition of companies… -
blog March 30, 2017 A Comparative Analysis: Tax Rates Paid by Companies for and Against the Border Adjustment Tax
It’s often noted that corporate tax reform is difficult, in part, because it creates so many winners and losers. As Congress turns its attention to federal corporate tax reform, the… -
press release March 28, 2017 Corporations Offshore Cash Hoard Grew to $2.6 Trillion in 2016
Fortune 500 Avoiding up to $767 Billion in U.S. Taxes U.S. corporations now hold a record $2.6 trillion offshore, a sum that ballooned by more than $200 billion over the… -
blog March 28, 2017 The $767 Billion Money Pot Driving Tax Reform
With the failure of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration and Republicans lawmakers are moving on to corporate tax reform. At the heart of this debate… -
report March 28, 2017 Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore
All told, Fortune 500 corporations are avoiding up to $767 billion in U.S. federal income taxes by holding more than $2.6 trillion of “permanently reinvested” profits offshore. In their latest annual financial reports, 29 of these corporations reveal that they have paid an income tax rate of 10 percent or less in countries where these profits are officially held, indicating that most of these profits are likely in offshore tax havens.
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press release March 28, 2017 Corporations’ Offshore Cash Hoard Grew to $2.6 Trillion in 2016
U.S. corporations now hold a record $2.6 trillion offshore, a sum that ballooned by more than $200 billion over the last year as companies moved more aggressively to shift their profits offshore, according to a new report, Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore, released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
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blog March 9, 2017 Debunking the 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
For years, the number one tax policy talking point from corporate lobbyists has been the claim that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. The… -
report March 9, 2017 The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth
Profitable corporations are subject to a 35 percent federal income tax rate on their U.S. profits. But many corporations pay far less, or nothing at all, because of the many tax loopholes and special breaks they enjoy. This report documents just how successful many Fortune 500 corporations have been at using loopholes and special breaks over the past eight years. As lawmakers look to reform the corporate tax code, this report shows that the focus of any overhaul should be on closing loopholes rather than on cutting tax rates.
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blog February 22, 2017 The Border Adjustment Tax Creates More Problems Than It Solves
In recent weeks, the Republican congressional leadership’s effort to introduce a comprehensive tax reform bill has increasingly faced opposition from major business groups and skeptical lawmakers from across the aisle.… -
report February 22, 2017 Regressive and Loophole-Ridden: Issues with the House GOP Border Adjustment Tax Proposal
In the summer of 2016, House Republicans released a blueprint for tax reform that is likely to be used as the starting point for major tax legislation in 2017.[1] One of the most radical provisions is a proposal to shift the corporate tax code from a residence-based to a destination-based system through applying a border adjustment on exports and imports. This proposal has major flaws that would make it a challenge to implement. Further, it is inherently regressive, rife with loopholes and would violate international agreements.
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blog January 18, 2017 Trump Plan to Give Billions in Tax Breaks to Multinational Corporations May Have Bipartisan Support
There are a lot of troubling components of the tax reform packages being proposed by President-Elect Donald Trump and the House GOP, but one that especially stands out is the… -
report January 18, 2017 Multinational Corporations Would Receive Half a Trillion in Tax Breaks from Trump’s Repatriation Tax Proposal
One of the central questions for lawmakers looking to reform the federal tax code this year is how to address the $2.5 trillion in earnings that U.S. companies are holding offshore to avoid taxes. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported proposals that would either require or allow companies to repatriate these earnings to the United States at a discounted tax rate. These proposals have ranged from letting companies repatriate their earnings tax-free to requiring them to immediately pay a discounted rate of 20 percent. All of the proposals would give corporations a substantial tax discount and forego much-needed revenue.
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report November 28, 2016 Comprehensive Guide to “Repatriation” Proposals
Corporations falsely claim that they have to engage in offshore tax avoidance maneuvers because the U.S. corporate tax rate is too high, an argument which has unfortunately found an audience in lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. In 2017, Congress likely will evaluate a number of approaches to taxing the trillions of dollars corporations currently hold offshore. This report explains and evaluates these proposals, including a so-called repatriation holiday and deemed repatriation. Further, it explains why ending deferral of taxes on U.S. multinational corporations’ foreign earnings could halt the widespread corporate practice of funneling money to subsidiaries for the express purpose of avoiding taxes.
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report November 28, 2016 Fact Sheet: What You Need to Know About Repatriation Proposals
Fortune 500 corporations collectively have stashed $2.5 trillion in profits offshore, on which they have avoided up to $718 billion in taxes. It’s no wonder that policymakers on both sides of the aisle are weighing legislative options to either tax these profits or create an incentive for corporations to “repatriate” or bring these profits to the United States so that they are subject to taxation.
Lawmakers have introduced several “repatriation” proposals that would glean tax revenue from these offshore profits. But the only solution that will ensure corporations pay taxes on their offshore profits AND shut down the practice of stashing cash offshore is to end deferral, the tax code loophole that allows corporations to indefinitely avoid paying taxes on profits stashed offshore.
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report October 4, 2016 Offshore Shell Games 2016
This study explores how in 2015 Fortune 500 companies used tax haven subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on much of their income. It reveals that tax haven use is now standard practice among the Fortune 500 and that a handful of the country’s wealthiest corporations benefit the most from this tax avoidance scheme.
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report September 30, 2016 Comment Letter to FASB on Income Tax Disclosure
We appreciate the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) ongoing review of its accounting standards to ensure that financial statements are “facilitating clear communication of information that is important to financial statement users.” Overall, the changes to disclosure requirements proposed by FASB in the exposure draft would represent a significant step forward toward providing users of financial statements the clarity that they need. We believe, however, that the exposure draft does not go far enough in providing the clarity needed and sought by investors and the public alike.
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press release August 30, 2016 News Release: U.S. Should Take a Page from European Commission’s Book And Crack Down on Corporate Tax Avoidance
Following is a statement by Matt Gardner of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy regarding the European Commission’s ruling today that the Apple Corporation must pay as much as… -
report February 25, 2014 The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes
Many of America’s Most Profitable Corporations Pay Little or No Federal Income Taxes; Multinationals Pay Higher Rates Abroad Than in the U.S.
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report November 13, 2011 Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers
Earlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett made headlines by publicly decrying the stark inequity between his own effective federal tax rate (about 17 percent, by his estimate) and… -
report April 15, 2010 Massey Pays One-Sixth of 35% Federal Tax Rate, Little in State Income Tax
A new analysis shows that Massey Energy, which owned the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 West Virginia miners were killed last week, paid an average of 5.6 percent of… -
report September 15, 2004 Corporate Income Taxes in the Bush Years
This study details which companies have benefitted the most from the decline in corporate taxes over the past three years, and which have been less fortunate. It also measures the…