May 22, 2019
With workers at Ford, AT&T, and other large companies facing layoffs and wage stagnation following the passage of President Donald Trump's tax cuts in 2017, IRS figures released Tuesday showed that corporate America--even as it rakes in record profits--is paying its lowest share of federal taxes since the Eisenhower presidency.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"Businesses contributed 7.6 percent of the $3.5 trillion in total tax revenue collected for fiscal-year 2018... a two percentage point decline from the previous year," CBS News reported.
According to CBS, that is the smallest share of federal income taxes corporations have paid in "nearly 60 years."
With U.S. companies paying less, and in some cases zero, in federal taxes thanks to the Trump-GOP law--which slashed the corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent--individuals are now taking on a larger share of the nation's tax burden.
Individuals accounted for 57 percent of federal tax revenue in 2018, compared with 54 percent the previous year, CBS reported.
\u201cThe GOP tax cut allowed 60 mega-corporations -- including Chevron, Eli Lilly & Halliburton -- to pay zero taxes, while working class families pay tax everyday. Is this the type of crony capitalism that Republicans believe will build America\u2019s future? https://t.co/rDFBVF4j2G\u201d— Ro Khanna (@Ro Khanna) 1555086556
The new IRS data came just a day after Ford--which reaped a massive windfall thanks to the Trump tax cuts--announced it is eliminating 7,000 jobs as part of a "massive organizational restructuring" effort, which the company expects will save as much as $600 million per year.
\u201c\u201cTrickle-down works!\u201d they said. \u201cIf we give big corporations tax breaks they\u2019ll give you jobs!\u201d they said. \n\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\n\nhttps://t.co/n4MQG51nCY\u201d— Americans For Tax Fairness (@Americans For Tax Fairness) 1558446240
Following Ford's announcement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called out Republicans for falsely promising that massive tax cuts for corporations would reward workers.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers," Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate, tweeted Monday. "The bottom line: Republicans sold the tax scam as a way to create jobs and help workers. They lied."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With workers at Ford, AT&T, and other large companies facing layoffs and wage stagnation following the passage of President Donald Trump's tax cuts in 2017, IRS figures released Tuesday showed that corporate America--even as it rakes in record profits--is paying its lowest share of federal taxes since the Eisenhower presidency.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"Businesses contributed 7.6 percent of the $3.5 trillion in total tax revenue collected for fiscal-year 2018... a two percentage point decline from the previous year," CBS News reported.
According to CBS, that is the smallest share of federal income taxes corporations have paid in "nearly 60 years."
With U.S. companies paying less, and in some cases zero, in federal taxes thanks to the Trump-GOP law--which slashed the corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent--individuals are now taking on a larger share of the nation's tax burden.
Individuals accounted for 57 percent of federal tax revenue in 2018, compared with 54 percent the previous year, CBS reported.
\u201cThe GOP tax cut allowed 60 mega-corporations -- including Chevron, Eli Lilly & Halliburton -- to pay zero taxes, while working class families pay tax everyday. Is this the type of crony capitalism that Republicans believe will build America\u2019s future? https://t.co/rDFBVF4j2G\u201d— Ro Khanna (@Ro Khanna) 1555086556
The new IRS data came just a day after Ford--which reaped a massive windfall thanks to the Trump tax cuts--announced it is eliminating 7,000 jobs as part of a "massive organizational restructuring" effort, which the company expects will save as much as $600 million per year.
\u201c\u201cTrickle-down works!\u201d they said. \u201cIf we give big corporations tax breaks they\u2019ll give you jobs!\u201d they said. \n\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\n\nhttps://t.co/n4MQG51nCY\u201d— Americans For Tax Fairness (@Americans For Tax Fairness) 1558446240
Following Ford's announcement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called out Republicans for falsely promising that massive tax cuts for corporations would reward workers.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers," Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate, tweeted Monday. "The bottom line: Republicans sold the tax scam as a way to create jobs and help workers. They lied."
With workers at Ford, AT&T, and other large companies facing layoffs and wage stagnation following the passage of President Donald Trump's tax cuts in 2017, IRS figures released Tuesday showed that corporate America--even as it rakes in record profits--is paying its lowest share of federal taxes since the Eisenhower presidency.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"Businesses contributed 7.6 percent of the $3.5 trillion in total tax revenue collected for fiscal-year 2018... a two percentage point decline from the previous year," CBS News reported.
According to CBS, that is the smallest share of federal income taxes corporations have paid in "nearly 60 years."
With U.S. companies paying less, and in some cases zero, in federal taxes thanks to the Trump-GOP law--which slashed the corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent--individuals are now taking on a larger share of the nation's tax burden.
Individuals accounted for 57 percent of federal tax revenue in 2018, compared with 54 percent the previous year, CBS reported.
\u201cThe GOP tax cut allowed 60 mega-corporations -- including Chevron, Eli Lilly & Halliburton -- to pay zero taxes, while working class families pay tax everyday. Is this the type of crony capitalism that Republicans believe will build America\u2019s future? https://t.co/rDFBVF4j2G\u201d— Ro Khanna (@Ro Khanna) 1555086556
The new IRS data came just a day after Ford--which reaped a massive windfall thanks to the Trump tax cuts--announced it is eliminating 7,000 jobs as part of a "massive organizational restructuring" effort, which the company expects will save as much as $600 million per year.
\u201c\u201cTrickle-down works!\u201d they said. \u201cIf we give big corporations tax breaks they\u2019ll give you jobs!\u201d they said. \n\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\n\nhttps://t.co/n4MQG51nCY\u201d— Americans For Tax Fairness (@Americans For Tax Fairness) 1558446240
Following Ford's announcement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called out Republicans for falsely promising that massive tax cuts for corporations would reward workers.
"Ford got nearly $750 million in tax breaks from the Trump tax scam and paid its CEO $18 million last year. Now, Ford is laying off thousands of workers," Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate, tweeted Monday. "The bottom line: Republicans sold the tax scam as a way to create jobs and help workers. They lied."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.