[dbussone]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There is a campaign to make all private industry the bogeyman. What gives with that?

What would we do without our large companies??? Only eight percent of people work for the government. Most of us worked for For Profit Companies.

I hear all kinds of put downs about how much CEO's make. They didn't just fall into that position and it is NOT easy to bear all that responsibility. There is a nasty movement to poison us all into a class war. After we have worked hard to have what we have, and encouraged our kids to get a good education and be successful...but pity the poor soul who has to tell their friends that their kid is CEO of General Electric.

WHAT is happening to us as a country????

Gracie - I concur. There are some agreeable responders and others who seem to feel otherwise. IMO, they may think they have been robbed of something they believe they were owed. Kind of like the 50% of our citizens who are not paying taxes but believe the other 50% should be obligated to support them.

[Tennisnut]

I think most people do not begrudge a CEO fair compensation. However, as a public company, they do begrudge one who unfairly uses his cronies on the Board of Directors to to take profits from the shareholders or owners of the company to give himself a $50 million bonus in lieu of $5 million bonus for one year of work. This is fairly similar to our representatives looking out for their own special interest.

[karostay]

If a major corporation pays any sizable amount of taxes I think they would be looking for new accounting dept in a hurry

[CFrance]

The fact some don't like how many large corporations use loopholes to dodge paying taxes, or that some CEOs run a company into the ground and then exit stage right with multi-million-dollar packages DOES NOT categorically equate to a condemnation of large corporations. Be careful not to read opinions into people's statements.

This is a forum where people can express their concern over issues. Many have brought up points I personally found interesting regarding taxes and corporations.(But I'm still not convinced CEOs of major corps. are worth the money they're paid.)

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by CFrance

The fact some don't like how many large corporations use loopholes to dodge paying taxes, or that some CEOs run a company into the ground and then exit stage right with multi-million-dollar packages DOES NOT categorically equate to a condemnation of large corporations. Be careful not to read opinions into people's statements.

This is a forum where people can express their concern over issues. Many have brought up points I personally found interesting regarding taxes and corporations.(But I'm still not convinced CEOs of major corps. are worth the money they're paid.)

If the loopholes are legal. New York State advertises tax breaks to corporations to woo them there. Business makes an area financially healthy and provides jobs.

I am like Rags in that I just want to know, and want everyone to know, the agenda of a person's attitude and don't like it when someone says he is one thing and he is really another.

And I am not talking about YOU C. I know how you feel and you are entitled to your views just like I am entitled to mine. I am a moderate Republican except I am VERY fiscally conservative...in my life and in my views. Money is hard to come by if you work for it. AND easily spent.

[Chi-Town]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

If the loopholes are legal. New York State advertises tax breaks to corporations to woo them there. Business makes an area financially healthy and provides jobs.

I am like Rags in that I just want to know, and want everyone to know, the agenda of a person's attitude and don't like it when someone says he is one thing and he is really another.

And I am not talking about YOU C. I know how you feel and you are entitled to your views just like I am entitled to mine. I am a moderate Republican except I am VERY fiscally conservative...in my life and in my views. Money is hard to come by if you work for it. AND easily spent.

One thing to remember is that the U.S. added almost 3 million jobs in 2014, the best since 1999. That's good news no matter what. We all fondly remember the 50's when every thing was booming and life was so good. The corporate tax rate was 52%. But remember that after tax breaks the actual rate is nowhere near it. If were to lower the rate and close some loopholes the net effect would be the same.

One other thing. At one time I was asked my political stance and I said probably a Rockefeller Republican. That makes me a liberal now. And GG, I think you might have been a moderate Republican at one time.

[Sandtrap328]

[QUOTE=graciegirl;1001429]There is a campaign to make all private industry the bogeyman. What gives with that?

What would we do without our large companies??? Only eight percent of people work for the government. Most of us worked for For Profit Companies.

I hear all kinds of put downs about how much CEO's make. They didn't just fall into that position and it is NOT easy to bear all that responsibility. There is a nasty movement to poison us all into a class war. After we have worked hard to have what we have, and encouraged our kids to get a good education and be successful...but pity the poor soul who has to tell their friends that their kid is CEO of General Electric.

WHAT is happening to us as a country????[/QUOte

Sure large companies are good - but what IS NOT GOOD is that the "big companies" basically see themselves above the law (in this case, the IRS) and take their company offshore along with all the profits. This IS NOT being patriotic.

The current tax code has certain rates that corporations are supposed to pay. We, as tax payers, have certain tax rates we are supposed to pay. We pay them. Let the corporations pay what they are supposed to pay.

[applesoffh]

The corporate tax rate for U.S. companies overseas may be lower, but the personal income taxes on the people living in some of these foreign countries is horrendous. I'll say yes to lower corporate tax rates here when I get a lower tax rate. There's no reason any corporation should pay less (percent of earnings/income) in taxes than I do.

[dotti105]

Hubby and I were surprised when we visited Australia a couple of years ago.

They have a very strong economy. Their banks pay 5% interest on saving. Their minimum wage is =$18.00/hr in US dollars. There is no tipping because they pay a living wage. What a concept!!!

They have a very low unemployment rate despite issues with illegal aliens from SE Asia.

They have had universal, single payer health care with which they seem very happy. It it like our medicare, but for everyone. Some older people also get private insurance as their risks increase.

We were asked so many questions about why health care is such an issue here, why our economy is in such bad shape. The people we met had as many questions about our government as we did about theirs. We learned a lot. Our eyes were opened on many issues.

Their country runs with a surplus!! Not a deficit!!

We asked if their taxes were high. They did not think so. They said that the corporations make up for any of the nations needs that income tax did not cover. They were actually upset when we were there because their national surplus had dipped!

When young couples start a family they get a $5,000 "baby bonus" for each baby. It is cash on a debit card for baby expenses. That's for each baby. But they have very low welfare rolls.

It was like being dropped onto another planet. The standard of living is high. homelessness was low.

I do believe that we live in the best country in the world.

But I do believe that we have let our elected officials take us far off track. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class shrinks. Corporate America DOES make all the rules. They have the elected officials from both parties in their back pockets.

You won't see tax reform in our lifetimes. Because there is too much at risk for our professional politicians. The corporate tax cuts will continue and the rich will continue to get rich and the poor continue to get poorer. We have set our government up with career politicians that do not care about you or me or the real future of our country.

This is not what our founding fathers envisioned. They wanted ordinary people to serve the nation, then go back to their real career after serving. I do not know the answers to the problems we have today. But contrasting our nation with Australia was stark and very difficult to swallow. We need term limits and politicians who serve the people not the special interests.

We are the lucky ones. Our grandkids will be the ones to really have to deal with these realities.
That trip to Australia was very eye opening to us.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by CFrance

The fact some don't like how many large corporations use loopholes to dodge paying taxes, or that some CEOs run a company into the ground and then exit stage right with multi-million-dollar packages DOES NOT categorically equate to a condemnation of large corporations. Be careful not to read opinions into people's statements.

This is a forum where people can express their concern over issues. Many have brought up points I personally found interesting regarding taxes and corporations.(But I'm still not convinced CEOs of major corps. are worth the money they're paid.)

C-let's put aside the issue of CEO comp for a bit. What we all need to realize is that the current corporate tax structure encourages companies to move production overseas, and retain profits there as well. GE is a perfect example; they have moved their production of light bulbs, locomotives, radiology equipment, etc to China. Along with movement of production went the jobs here. I realize this is an oversimplification that involves far more: wages, unions, cost of materials, etc. However, the basic issue is as I stated - taxes.

[sunnyatlast]

Funny how we never hear about how evil and "greedy" the Hollywood corporation giants are.

But then, we know who they suck up to and fund in the elections.

Hollywood Teaches Wall Street a Lesson in Corporate Welfare
Media companies rake in about $1.4 billion yearly from state tax credits and rebates

"...Media companies nab about $1.4 billion annually in tax incentives that 40 states offer for TV and film production, according to a report this year by the California Legislative Analyst's Office. Most provide either rebates or tax credits that offset a percentage of their production costs.

Recipients last year included such box-office blockbusters as "American Hustle," "12 Years a Slave" and, lo, "The Wolf of Wall Street." New York taxpayers covered 30% of "Wolf's" postproduction and below-the-line (i.e., labor, construction, crew) costs. The Empire State Development office didn't respond to our request of how much "Wolf" and other films collected, but the film had a $100 million budget—and grossed nearly $400 million world-wide…."

Allysia Finley: Hollywood Teaches Wall Street a Lesson in Corporate Welfare - WSJ
.
Big Eight (film studios)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Big 8 (disambiguation).

The Big Eight refers to the eight corporations that own the Big Ten, the ten major Hollywood movie studios:[citation needed]

News Corporation - owns 20th Century Fox
The Walt Disney Company - owns Buena Vista, Walt Disney Studios. Previously owned Miramax/Dimension Films.
Viacom - owns Paramount Pictures
Sony - owns both Sony Pictures and MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
Time Warner - owns both Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.
NBC Universal - owns Universal Studios

See also:

Big Four - the four major music corporations: EMI, Sony-BMG, Universal, and Warner (originally the Big Five, but Sony and BMG merged)

[memason]

Originally Posted by dotti105

Hubby and I were surprised when we visited Australia a couple of years ago.

They have a very strong economy. Their banks pay 5% interest on saving. Their minimum wage is =$18.00/hr in US dollars. There is no tipping because they pay a living wage. What a concept!!!

They have a very low unemployment rate despite issues with illegal aliens from SE Asia.

They have had universal, single payer health care with which they seem very happy. It it like our medicare, but for everyone. Some older people also get private insurance as their risks increase.

We were asked so many questions about why health care is such an issue here, why our economy is in such bad shape. The people we met had as many questions about our government as we did about theirs. We learned a lot. Our eyes were opened on many issues.

Their country runs with a surplus!! Not a deficit!!

We asked if their taxes were high. They did not think so. They said that the corporations make up for any of the nations needs that income tax did not cover. They were actually upset when we were there because their national surplus had dipped!

When young couples start a family they get a $5,000 "baby bonus" for each baby. It is cash on a debit card for baby expenses. That's for each baby. But they have very low welfare rolls.

It was like being dropped onto another planet. The standard of living is high. homelessness was low.

I do believe that we live in the best country in the world.

But I do believe that we have let our elected officials take us far off track. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class shrinks. Corporate America DOES make all the rules. They have the elected officials from both parties in their back pockets.

You won't see tax reform in our lifetimes. Because there is too much at risk for our professional politicians. The corporate tax cuts will continue and the rich will continue to get rich and the poor continue to get poorer. We have set our government up with career politicians that do not care about you or me or the real future of our country.

This is not what our founding fathers envisioned. They wanted ordinary people to serve the nation, then go back to their real career after serving. I do not know the answers to the problems we have today. But contrasting our nation with Australia was stark and very difficult to swallow. We need term limits and politicians who serve the people not the special interests.

We are the lucky ones. Our grandkids will be the ones to really have to deal with these realities.
That trip to Australia was very eye opening to us.

Outstanding post!

You also address some of what I believe to be the "root cause" of some of the problems we have, in this country, implementing some of the same measures here.

[rp001]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

If the loopholes are legal. New York State advertises tax breaks to corporations to woo them there. Business makes an area financially healthy and provides jobs.

I am like Rags in that I just want to know, and want everyone to know, the agenda of a person's attitude and don't like it when someone says he is one thing and he is really another.

And I am not talking about YOU C. I know how you feel and you are entitled to your views just like I am entitled to mine. I am a moderate Republican except I am VERY fiscally conservative...in my life and in my views. Money is hard to come by if you work for it. AND easily spent.

The loopholes are legal because the bought and paid for, primarily state representatives, have made it so. All the rhetoric regarding the poor corporations and not one word about anti trust enforcement, the true measure and driver of Free Enterprise

[bimmertl]

Originally Posted by dotti105

Hubby and I were surprised when we visited Australia a couple of years ago.

They have a very strong economy. Their banks pay 5% interest on saving. Their minimum wage is =$18.00/hr in US dollars. There is no tipping because they pay a living wage. What a concept!!!

They have a very low unemployment rate despite issues with illegal aliens from SE Asia.

They have had universal, single payer health care with which they seem very happy. It it like our medicare, but for everyone. Some older people also get private insurance as their risks increase.

We were asked so many questions about why health care is such an issue here, why our economy is in such bad shape. The people we met had as many questions about our government as we did about theirs. We learned a lot. Our eyes were opened on many issues.

Their country runs with a surplus!! Not a deficit!!

We asked if their taxes were high. They did not think so. They said that the corporations make up for any of the nations needs that income tax did not cover. They were actually upset when we were there because their national surplus had dipped!

When young couples start a family they get a $5,000 "baby bonus" for each baby. It is cash on a debit card for baby expenses. That's for each baby. But they have very low welfare rolls.

It was like being dropped onto another planet. The standard of living is high. homelessness was low.

I do believe that we live in the best country in the world.

But I do believe that we have let our elected officials take us far off track. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class shrinks. Corporate America DOES make all the rules. They have the elected officials from both parties in their back pockets.

You won't see tax reform in our lifetimes. Because there is too much at risk for our professional politicians. The corporate tax cuts will continue and the rich will continue to get rich and the poor continue to get poorer. We have set our government up with career politicians that do not care about you or me or the real future of our country.

This is not what our founding fathers envisioned. They wanted ordinary people to serve the nation, then go back to their real career after serving. I do not know the answers to the problems we have today. But contrasting our nation with Australia was stark and very difficult to swallow. We need term limits and politicians who serve the people not the special interests.

We are the lucky ones. Our grandkids will be the ones to really have to deal with these realities.
That trip to Australia was very eye opening to us.

Typical TOTV post. Somebody makes a statement and it immediately becomes a "fact". Then those who want it to be factual jump on the band wagon and keep the myth going.

Not much involved in checking out some of the facts. Here's a couple of actual facts and there are plenty more on the net.

Welcome to the welfare nation: Half of Australia’s families pay no net tax

No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by bimmertl

Typical TOTV post. Somebody makes a statement and it immediately becomes a "fact". Then those who want it to be factual jump on the band wagon and keep the myth going.

Not much involved in checking out some of the facts. Here's a couple of actual facts and there are plenty more on the net.

Welcome to the welfare nation: Half of Australia’s families pay no net tax

No Cookies | dailytelegraph.com.au

I believe you are misunderstanding Australia's definition of "wellfare." What the term means in Australia is what is provided to each citizen as a result of taxes paid. And in this article it's not that they pay no tax. It's that they pay no net tax. So the benefits conferred on some Ausralians equal an amount that is greater than the tax paid by the percentage stated in the article.

I have a son and DIL who live and work in Australia. They pay very high taxes. But their benefits are very good. Australia is definitely a nanny state, but my son and DIL are happy with the goods and services available to them for the taxes they pay.

And here's an article you may be interested in regarding Americans and taxes: 60 Percent of Households Now Receive More in Transfer Income Than they Pay in Taxes | Tax Foundation

From the article you quoted:
On average, Australian families will pay $12,935 in income tax this year but receive $9515 in benefits — a net yearly contribution to the public purse of just $3424.
The figures include welfare paid in pensions, family benefits, jobless support and childcare support.