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April 15th is Tax Day. Each and every year, major profitable corporations avoid paying billions in taxes by exploiting complicated tax loopholes like inversions, valuation discounts and real estate investment trusts.
In 1952, the corporate income tax accounted for about 32 percent of all federal tax revenue. Today, despite record-breaking profits, corporate taxes bring in just 11 percent.
But some members of Congress still don’t think that corporations should pay what they rightfully owe.
Although we have an $18 trillion national debt, some members of Congress refuse to raise revenue by asking these corporate giants to pay their fair share. Now, some of these same members of Congress are saying we need savage cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs that help the most vulnerable Americans in order to pay down the debt.
Let’s make sure these profitable corporations pay what they owe. The Obama Administration can use executive actions to close egregious loopholes and stop corporations from hiding profits in offshore tax havens like the Cayman Islands.
Sign the petition by Daily Kos & a wide coalition to President Obama and Treasury Secretary Lew to take action and eliminate corporate tax loopholes that are robbing American taxpayers.
Our Message to President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew:
It is time to eliminate corporate tax loopholes that are robbing American taxpayers. Please sign an executive order that will cut these six loopholes, none of which would require congressional approval:
- The check-the-box loophole allows multinational companies to characterize their offshore subsidiaries in different ways to different governments so that their profits are untaxed.
- The Hewlett-Packard loophole allows American corporations to use short-term loans from their subsidiaries to circumvent the requirement that they pay U.S. taxes on their offshore profits when those profits are brought to the U.S.
- The corporate inversions loophole allows an American corporation to merge with a (usually much smaller) foreign corporation and then re-incorporate as a foreign company to avoid U.S. taxes, even as it continues to operate and be managed in the U.S.
- The carried interest loophole allows hedge fund managers to characterize their compensation (which they earn for managing other people’s money) as capital gains, which is subject to lower personal income tax rates than other types of income.
- Valuation discounts are restrictions placed on small business property given to family members (to keep the business in the family, for example) that are often meaningless, but are claimed to dramatically reduce their value for estate and gift tax purposes.
- The real estate investment trust (REIT) loophole allows private prisons, billboard companies, casinos and other companies to claim that they are making money from rents to avoid paying the corporate income tax.
SIGN HERE
American Family Voices
Americans for Tax Fairness
Campaign For America’s Future
Courage Campaign
Daily Kos
Friends of Bernie Sanders
Left Action
National Priorities Project
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Keith Ellison
RH Reality Check
The Nation
The Other 98%
Watchdog.net / Demand Progress
SIGN HERE
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