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<DIV><FONT size=2>The lowest estimate for the cost of the various bailouts is
$700 Billion.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Other estimates range up to $7.4 Trillion</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/24/bailout-cost-government-p_n_145971.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/24/bailout-cost-government-p_n_145971.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/880705/">http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/880705/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Assume the absurdly low $700 Billion.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In round numbers there are just over 300 million
people in the use. Hence, for each billion of bailout money each person
incurs a share of debt/liability of about $3.30.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>700 x 3.30 = $2,310</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>At he high end:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>7.4 x 1,000 x 3.30 = $24,420</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Of course not everyone of the 300 million pays taxes, hence
the burden becomes larger as it falls on fewer people.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Some corporations pay taxes, but most do not pay any or very
little (55% to 75%). See below.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The only recourse in this whole ill-conceived bailout we
ordinary citizens have is to stock up on Preparation H.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>__________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/35481">http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/35481</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<H1 class=title>Most Corporations Don't Pay Income Taxes</H1>
<DIV class=tabs></DIV>
<DIV class=node><SPAN class=submitted>Submitted by Chip on Tue, 2008-08-12
23:03.</SPAN> <SPAN class=taxonomy>
<UL class="links inline">
<LI class="first taxonomy_term_3"><A class=taxonomy_term_3 title=""
href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/congress" rel=tag>Congress</A>
<LI class="last taxonomy_term_12"><A class=taxonomy_term_12 title=""
href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/taxonomy/term/12" rel=tag>General
Discussion</A></LI></UL></SPAN>
<DIV class=content>
<P><A href="http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002937306.html"
rel=nofollow>Most Corporations Don't Pay Income Taxes</A><BR>by: Richard Rubin |
<A href="http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002937306.html"
rel=nofollow>Congressional Quarterly</A></P>
<P>Most corporations, including the vast majority of foreign companies doing
business in the United States, pay no income taxes, according to a <A
href="http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08957.pdf" rel=nofollow>Government
Accountability Office report</A> released Tuesday.</P>
<P>During the eight-year period covered by the report, 72 percent of
foreign-owned corporations went at least one year without owing taxes, and the
same was true for 55 percent of domestic corporations.</P>
<P>Small companies were much more likely to pay no taxes than larger companies.
Still, more than 3,500 large domestic corporations - with more than $250 million
in assets or $50 million in gross receipts - did not pay taxes in 2005.</P>
<P>The report said about 80 percent of the companies studied paid no taxes
because they didn't generate any profit after expenses. Money-losing companies
can legitimately owe no tax, and others can use provisions of the tax code to
lower or eliminate their liability.</P>
<P>But the lawmakers who sought the data seized on the report as proof of
corporate gamesmanship.</P>
<P>"It's shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to
support our country," said Byron L. Dorgan , D-N.D., who requested the report
along with Carl Levin , D-Mich. "The tax system that allows this wholesale tax
avoidance is an embarrassment and unfair to hardworking Americans who pay their
fair share of taxes. We need to plug these tax loopholes and put these
corporations back on the tax rolls."</P>
<P>The report covered the period from 1998 through 2005. During that time,
corporate income taxes as a share of gross domestic product dipped, from 2.2
percent in 1998 to 1.2 percent in 2003, the lowest share since 1983. But
receipts jumped after that, hitting 2.7 percent in 2006 and 2007, according to
the Office of Management and Budget. That was the highest share since the late
1970s.</P>
<P>The GAO report also found that foreign-owned corporations were somewhat more
likely to report no income than domestic corporations. There are several
possible reasons for that. Foreign corporations may be younger, and startups are
more likely to have no net income after expenses. They may also be in industries
with lower profit margins.</P>
<P>Another possibility could be the use of transfer pricing, which companies use
to account for transactions between subsidiaries in different countries.
Creative, rule-stretching use of transfer pricing can allow companies to push
their profits into lower-taxed jurisdictions. The report does not attempt to
examine whether illegal transfer-pricing caused the difference between foreign
and domestic companies.</P>
<P>But companies looking for lower-taxed jurisdictions often take profits out of
the United States. The country's 35 percent top rate on corporate income is
among the highest in the industrialized world.</P>
<P>Many tax experts and lawmakers from both parties, including Ways and Means
Chairman Charles B. Rangel , D-N.Y., and presidential candidate Sen. John McCain
, R-Ariz., have called for lowering the corporate tax rate. Lawmakers are likely
to differ on what revenue-raising measures, if any, should be paired with a
corporate rate cut.</P>
<P>In addition, Levin, Finance Chairman Max Baucus , D-Mont., and other senators
have been trying to close the "tax gap," the difference between taxes owed and
taxes collected.</P>
<P>In a statement, Baucus said, "I'm committed to finding ways to improve
compliance and reduce taxpayer burden so that we begin to bridge the tax gap,
which accounts for $345 billion in legally owed but uncollected federal revenues
each year."</P>
<P>He said the GAO report "shows yet again the need for full-fledged [tax]
reform next year...."</P>
<P>"We are constantly reviewing the tax code to find ways to crack down on those
who are trying to avoid paying their fair share, without placing undue
compliance or reporting burdens on honest taxpayers. As part of this on-going
effort, we are reviewing the GAO report to see what it might suggest about where
to target tax gap efforts," Baucus said.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>