and how much of it went to stockholders that will be taxed on dividends and capital gains???Nine billion dollars of GE's profits came overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. tax law.
GE isn't repatriating those profits, because the US corporate tax rates are the highest in the western world. Instead, they are leaving that money offshore, and investing it their operations outside the US. There's definitely something wrong here, and it's not with GE.
GE wasn't taxed on $5 billion in U.S. profits because it utilized numerous deductions and tax credits, including tax breaks for investments in low-income housing, green energy, research and development, as well as depreciation of property.
In other words, they took advantage of all the different provisions that are available to all corporations. Some of those were created by previous Congresses and administration, and some were created recently under this administration.
Do you claim deductions on your tax return for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state/local taxes. If so, how is what you are doing any different than what GE did?
Each of those provisions are the result of a lobbying effort by large corporations such as GE. They write a tax provision they like, garner support among like situated businesses, pool their resources to hire a lobbying consultant, which is packaged by appeal to some liberal pabulum and get their provision stuck into one page of a 5,000 page bill.
How does a small business even learn that such provisions are even on the books? By expending time and effort, which detracts from their core pursuit. The result is a competitive edge to larger business - all acheived through legal means.
Thus my tagline.
Isn’t that just it, though? GE finds it profitable -*PROFITABLE*- to create a 57,000 page tax return rather than finding profit by making stuff. Business does not corrupt politics. The trust-busting politicians of 100 years ago set out to do good by regulating business, and those politicians have done very well, indeed, ever since. Politics corrupts business.
The NappyOne
and how much of it went to stockholders that will be taxed on dividends and capital gains???
