R i g h t a r d i a: CEOs paid more than the corporate tax bill

Saturday, September 3, 2011

CEOs paid more than the corporate tax bill

The Republicans party has turned into a tax cut cult. The US actually has one of the lowest tax rates of the industrial world and corporate taxes are not paid by many of the largest US corporations.

For example, the largest US corporation , GE, hasn't paid corporate income tax for years. Meanwhile 'moderate" Jon Huntsman wants to reform federal income taxes by exempting billionaires and millionairess form the capital gains tax. More than 70 per cent of the capital gains tax is paid by people making more than $200,000 per year.

How many Americans are stupid enough to believe that cutting taxes for the affluent will actually help the economy?

The basis of the Bush tax cuts were the

Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA)
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA)

These tax cuts which started in 2003 were extended by the Obama administration until 2010. If these supply side tax cuts worked, why has the US been in a recession since 2008?

The Republicans will probably say that the economy would be even worse off without the tax cuts without being able to back that declaration up with any factual information.