Oh how cute, Senator Dorgan (D – ND) is in a tizzy about corporations and how much in taxes they pay.
The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released today, said two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, and about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period.
Collectively, the companies reported trillions of dollars in sales, according to GAO\’s estimate.
\”It\’s shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country,\” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who asked for the GAO study with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Sigh.
Let me make this easy for you Dorgan. Companies don\’t pay taxes, income or otherwise…..ever. However, companies do occasionally incur costs, imposed by the government, that they simply pass on to their customers in the form of higher prices. You may call these costs taxes, but businesses call it \”cost of doing business\”, and taxpayers (and voters) call it high prices they can\’t afford.
In much the same way, companies don\’t really have profits. Profits end up going to either stockholders, or else they are invested in further business, which creates more jobs. This investment may or may not make them more \”profits\”.
It\’s really that simple guy. Try to keep up.