The Grand Rapids Press: 30 U.S. corporations paid ‘less than zero’ income tax from 2008-2010
media mentionPublished: Thursday, November 03, 2011, 2:58 PM Updated: Thursday, November 03, 2011, 9:36 PM
Troy Reimink | The Grand Rapids Press By Troy Reimink | The Grand Rapids Press
How’s this for a blood-boiler: A new report from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy identifies 30 corporations who payed an average income tax rate of less than zero during the past three years.
The groups’ study of tax filings by the nation’s 280 most profitable corporations reveals 78 of them had at least one tax-free year from 2008-2010 thanks to federal subsidies. The 280 companies during this period paid an average of 18.5 percent of their income in income taxes, which is about half the federal rate.
Washington, D.C.-based utility firm Pepco Holdings paid the lowest tax rate during the period, negative 58 percent. The list of companies paying zero or less-than-zero income taxes all three years includes three Michigan firms: Detroit-based DTE Energy, Jackson-based CMS Energy and Ann Arbor-based freight and logistics company Con-way.
Other well-known firms on that list include General Electric, DuPont, Verizon, Boeing and Wells Fargo. Many of the corporations dispute the accuracy of the groups’ findings.
Some other notable facts from the report:
• Corporate income tax as a percentage of GDP has declined steadily since 1960.
• About a quarter of the top 280 companies paid the 35 percent tax rate. Another quarter paid less than 10 percent.
• The financial services industry received the largest share of federal tax subsidies.
• Companies with significant overseas profits tend to pay higher tax rates in other countries than they do here.