ExxonMobil paid no federal income tax in 2009.

[G_j]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/06/exxon-tax/

ExxonMobil paid no federal income tax in 2009.

Last week, Forbes magazine published what the top U.S. corporations paid in taxes last year. “Most egregious,” Forbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS:

Exxon tries to limit the tax pain with the help of 20 wholly owned subsidiaries domiciled in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands that (legally) shelter the cash flow from operations in the likes of Angola, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi. No wonder that of $15 billion in income taxes last year, Exxon paid none of it to Uncle Sam, and has tens of billions in earnings permanently reinvested overseas.

Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein notes that, despite benefiting from corporate welfare in the U.S., Exxon complains about paying high taxes, claiming that it threatens energy innovation research. Pat Garofalo at the Wonk Room notes that big corporations’ tax shelter practices similar to Exxon’s shift a $100 billion annual tax burden onto U.S. taxpayers. In fact, in 2008, the Government Accountability Office found that “two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005.”

[Echo In Light]

1. k/r

[OHdem10]

2. This is more typical than not. Remember Enron. They had paid no

taxes for 4 years when the company collapsed in disgrace.

Often "Earmarks" by Congress People, are a waiver to some
company to avoid paying taxes that year.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. This is what happens when the rich game the system

America should replace the stars on the us flag with corporate logos.

[harun]

4. A reminder that $$$ is power. They have it, we don't.

[Historic NY]

5. point the teabagger in the right direction...corporate persons living free on the hog

[DCKit]

6. Excellent point. They're angry about all the wrong things.

Their anger could be put to much better use if directed toward the things that are actually damaging U.S..

[indepat]

7. Seems most have no problem with the Federal debt increasing 12-fold since the gipper implemented his

voodoo economics all the while the largest, most profitable corporation and our wealthiest pay a relative modicum in Federal income taxes, so why should I since the only thing at stake is the Republic itself? :-)

[Rageneau]

8. If corporations are people for campaign purposes, why not for tyax purposes?

I very much doubt that an individual who made 10.5 billion dollars last year would pay -- as Exxon-Mobil did -- NO federal taxes.