Aftermath News: Many corporations pay no U.S. taxes, new report finds

“You know, gentlemen, that I do not owe any personal income tax. But nevertheless, I send a small check, now and then, to the Internal Revenue Service out of the kindness of my heart.”
- David Rockefeller
Detroit Free Press | Aug 12, 2008
WASHINGTON: Many corporations pay no U.S. taxes, new report finds
Most U.S. corporations and foreign companies doing business in the United States pay no federal income tax, according to a new report from Congress.
The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released today, said two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 to 2005 and about 68% of foreign companies doing business in the United States avoided corporate taxes over the same period.
Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to the GAO’s estimate.
“It’s shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who asked for the GAO study with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
An outside tax expert, Chris Edwards of the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, said increasing numbers of limited liability corporations and so-called “S” corporations pay taxes under individual tax codes.
The study did not investigate why corporations weren’t paying federal income taxes or corporate taxes and it did not identify any corporations by name. It said they may escape paying taxes because of operating losses or tax credits.