26 Corporations That Paid Their CEOs More Than Uncle Sam
The loophole: Unlimited tax deductability for executive pay
How it works: Federal laws impose no meaningful limit on the amount of executive compensation corporations may deduct from their taxable income as an expense.
Annual cost to the treasury: $9.7 billion
The loophole: Unlimited deferred compensation
How it works: CEOs may legally shield unlimited amounts of compensation from taxes through special deferred accounts set up by their employers.
Cost to the treasury: $80.6 million
The loophole: Preferential treatment for carried interest
How it works: Investment advisors such as Mitt Romney get paid in stock or equity shares (what's known as "carried interest"
instead of a cash salary. This allows them to pay taxes on their income at the 15 percent capital gains rate, instead of the 35 percent rate that applies to regular income.
Annual cost to the treasury: $2.1 billion
The loophole: Stock option accounting double standard
How it works: Corporations don't take tax deductions for executive stock options (which allow execs to buy company stock at a preset price) until after the options are exercised. At that point, the options are often worth much more than at the time they were granted. The corporations may then deduct this difference in value from their taxes as "excess stock compensation."
Annual cost to the treasury: $2.5 billion
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/26-corporations-paid-ceo-more-than-uncle-sam
Check out the graph. Companies like Halliburton that paid no tax but received 1,026 mill in subsidies from the government and paid their CEO 16 million. GRRRRR
