GE made 14 BILLION dollars in profits last year

[MamaMia]

and pays ZERO in taxes and gets a 3.2 Billion dollar tax credit! Are you freakin kidding me? Thats nuts! 5 billion of that money was made off you and me right here in the U.S. I think I'll go throw my blender in the trash now.

Obama wants to tax the rich up the wazoo but his buddy Jeff Immelt gets off scott free.



President Obama shares a warm moment with Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO of the government's favorite corporation. Mr. Immelt has been selected to head President Obama's jobs panel, which helps decide corporate tax policy. (Source: Drew Angerer/The New York Times)

GE: $14B USD Profits, Pays No Taxes For Last Year, Gets $3.2B Tax Benefit
Jason Mick (Blog) - March 25, 2011 3:22 PM

Citizens and businesses can only hope to one day be as savvy tax-wise as General Electric Comp. The tech giant earned a sweet $14.2B USD in profit in 2010. And now the U.S. government has given it a hefty gift -- a year completely free of taxes and a $3.2B USD tax benefit.

The U.S. tax rate for corporations is supposedly 35 percent. But over the years crafty politicians have collaborated with business allies to work more holes into the tax code than a block of Swiss cheese. But even in today's era of free flowing corporate tax loopholes few companies have perfected the art to the degree GE has -- making massive profits, paying no taxes, and getting a tax benefit.

Part of how it snuck its way into such a sweetheart deal is the company it keeps. President Barack Obama anointed GE's chief executive as the head of his new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Among the council's key roles? Discussing corporate taxes.

According to The New York Times, which first broke news of GE's incredible feat, GE spent years of "innovative accounting" and fierce lobbying to slowly slim its tax bill. But when it really started experiencing windfall gains was when it hired a former Treasury official to lead its tax department and filled its team with former IRS employees and Congressional tax specialists.

Ultimately GE's massive profits mean a load of money for the company's executives and top shareholders.

For the rest of the U.S., the situation is less rosy. Today corporations only account for 6.6 percent of the federal government's tax revenue. Small businesses and taxpaying citizens have to make up the remainder of the tax deficit. And in GE's case citizens and smalls businesses find themselves in the strange situation of financing a special bonus for the government's favorite wildly successful corporation.

GE owns a number of assets, mostly in the high tech and communications field. It owns a number of utilities, supplies power grid electronics, sells vehicle components, and even owns cable TV properties, such as NBC Universal.

http://www.dailytech.com/GE+14B+USD+...ticle21230.htm

[SoonerKnight]

GE is not the only ones:

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.

Forbes has updated its article to include a statement from Exxon: "Though Exxon's financial statement's don't show any net income tax liability owed to Uncle Sam, a company spokesman insists that once its final tax bill is figured, Exxon will owe a 'substantial 2009 tax liability.' How substantial? 'That's not something we're required to disclose, nor do we.'"

There is a whole bunch of them that don't pay! But the bills to close the loop holes have been block can you guess which party blocked them?

[SoonerKnight]

Of course a good republican would say time to invest in GE!

[REDREX]

Of course a good republican would say time to invest in GE!

---GE has been a very poor investment for the last three years

[soonercruiser]

And, of course GE and NBC (NBS) News don't have any connection; do they?
And, NBS doesn't support the Demoncratic Party; does it?

[Sooner5030]

/not a GE fan or a fan of crony corporate/State relationships

but

the post should be further qualified to say "corporate" income taxes. I would bet that the employees paid by GE have paid plenty in income and other taxes.

but the OP makes a point about how distributing income through dividends and capital gains can still be less than the marginal rates these individuals would be taxed if distributed via wages.

[SoonerKnight]

---GE has been a very poor investment for the last three years

Really? Spoken like a good republican!

[SoonerJack]

Redrex is wrong. I'm pretty sure were were around 10 a few years ago and we're around 20 now. Of course about 5 years ago we were around 30. We're getting there.

Keep in mind, GE employees lots of taxpaying Americans either directly or indirectly through the supply chain.

[StoopTroup]

I bought into their Stock back around $17. My Dad has some of it he's had since I can't remember when. It is on the rise but not as much as it should be IMO. 14 billion in profits....is insane.....

GE Stock Graph Link

[REDREX]

Redrex is wrong. I'm pretty sure were were around 10 a few years ago and we're around 20 now. Of course about 5 years ago we were around 30. We're getting there.

Keep in mind, GE employees lots of taxpaying Americans either directly or indirectly through the supply chain.

--- Not wrong ---The last three years GE has been as high as 36 as low as 12 and now is under 20 and has a low dividend---How has that been a good investment?

[GrapevineSooner]

It should be pointed out that the tax law that GE is benefiting from was signed into law by Bush.

[soonerscuba]

I fail to see how GE is a monster for legally structuring itself. I mean, morally, it's pretty icky, but they did what they are allowed to do. Tying this to Obama is derangement.

[cccasooner2]

Keep in mind, GE employees lots of taxpaying Americans either directly or indirectly through the supply chain.

It's always nice to push the tax burden on to the employees.

[hawaii 5-0]

It should be pointed out that the tax law that GE is benefiting from was signed into law by Bush.

Darn !! There's that 'truth thing' getting in the way again.


5-0

[AlboSooner]

It should be pointed out that the tax law that GE is benefiting from was signed into law by Bush.

You and your facts. I guess for some it's ok to tax the rich if they support the Dems.

[SoonerJack]

--- Not wrong ---The last three years GE has been as high as 36 as low as 12 and now is under 20 and has a low dividend---How has that been a good investment?

You should have bought it at 12 dude. GE businesses supply things the world needs, especially the developing world.

Should they pay more in taxes? Probably.

Have they taken advantage of legal loopholes? Yep.

Are the loopholes legal? Sounds like it.

[Breadburner]

Good for GE......

[soonercruiser]

It should be pointed out that the tax law that GE is benefiting from was signed into law by Bush.

I'm merely pointing out the hypocrisy of corporate connections to politics on the Left.
And, GE stands to come up pretty big on stimulus bill incentives for so-called "Green" technologies in the future.
(BTW - GE wasn't one of the big corporations that got health care bill exemptions, was it?)

[Soonrboy]

It should be pointed out that the tax law that GE is benefiting from was signed into law by Bush.

but MamaMia is making it look like it's Obama's fault!!

[yermom]

I'm merely pointing out the hypocrisy of corporate connections to politics on the Left.
And, GE stands to come up pretty big on stimulus bill incentives for so-called "Green" technologies in the future.
(BTW - GE wasn't one of the big corporations that got health care bill exemptions, was it?)

it's not about the right or the left, it's about politicians keeping their rich friends rich