Corporate welfare and the scam on the American people is a daily scandal. And it gets obscured sometimes in the rah-rah competition in the marketplace that we get sucked into by the traditional media. So, here's something to think about: you, the taxpayer, are about to shell our billions of dollars to a corporation that PAYS NOT A DIME IN FEDERAL TAXES. The company is called Boeing
You've probably read all about it:
In a surprise twist to a long-running saga, the Air Force said on Thursday that it would award a $35 billion contract for aerial fueling tankers to Boeing rather than to a European company that builds Airbus planes...
The Air Force said the first phase of the contract would be worth $3.5 billion, and it would cover the construction of the first 18 tankers by 2017. Boeing would build 179 tankers in all for about $35 billion.
Now, I have to admit two conflicting emotions about this deal. On the one hand, I find the stupefying amount of money that this country has poured into militarization immoral and unconscionable. On the other hand, I am acutely aware that this deal will also mean jobs for a long time for people who work for Boeing, particularly in Washington State--and many of those jobs, for machinists, are still pretty darn good-paying jobs despite the cuts machinists have taken.
But, neither of the above issues is what is at issue here. It's whether a very profitable corporation that does not pay a fair share in taxes should be even allowed to benefit from billions of dollars in taxpayer money. From the great folks at Citizens for Tax Justice:
Despite reporting nearly $10 billion in domestic pre-tax profits between 2008 and 2010, the Boeing Corporation, which was granted a contract worth as much as $35 billion to build airplanes for the federal government earlier this week, did not pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes during this three-year period.[emphasis added]
For example:
In 2009, Boeing reported $1.5 billion in pre-tax profits, but didn’t pay any federal income tax at all on those profits. Instead, the company claimed an outright tax rebate of $132 million.[worth an entire emphasis added]
And...
The data, which are based on Boeing’s tax filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, don’t make it clear exactly which tax avoidance mechanisms Boeing used to reduce its tax liabilities in this way. But a 2008 report from the General Accounting Office found that Boeing had 38 subsidiaries located in foreign tax havens.[emphasis added]
As Bob McIntyre, CTJ's head, says:
“Throughout the competition for this lucrative federal contract, Boeing has tried to position itself as the company that supports America. But its shocking success in avoiding payment of US corporate income taxes tells a very different story.”
Consider this: it is true that, in the scheme of federal budgets, one corporation's tax avoidance seems small. But, add all that up--and it amounts to real money.
The loudest voices demanding federal budget-cutting are coming from corporate CEOs--while they raid the U.S. Treasury and/or refuse to pay a fair share in corporate taxes.
I'd say "incredible" but the fact that I am not shocked is really sad.