8-13-2014
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-insane-u-s--corporate-tax-system-145353359.html
20 U.S. companies that paid 0% in taxes
USA Today reports that 20 big, profitable U.S. companies paid no taxes in the second quarter, among them Merck (MRK), General Motors (GM) and computer storage company, Seagate (STX). (See below for the full list.)
Merck, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S., actually had a negative effective tax rate of 7.5% during the second quarter, which means it got a tax credit. Eight of the 20 companies were in real estate or real estate-related businesses.
"This is insanity because every day we hear people saying the corporate tax rate is a mess and that's holding back our economy," says Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task.
Yahoo Finance's Henry Blodget agrees that the argument the tax system is hurting the economy is a "complete crock," but he says the "corporate tax situation is a big problem" because companies often do whatever they can -- like moving headquarters overseas AKA "corporate inversions" -- just to save on taxes.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-insane-u-s--corporate-tax-system-145353359.html
20 U.S. companies that paid 0% in taxes
USA Today reports that 20 big, profitable U.S. companies paid no taxes in the second quarter, among them Merck (MRK), General Motors (GM) and computer storage company, Seagate (STX). (See below for the full list.)
Merck, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S., actually had a negative effective tax rate of 7.5% during the second quarter, which means it got a tax credit. Eight of the 20 companies were in real estate or real estate-related businesses.
"This is insanity because every day we hear people saying the corporate tax rate is a mess and that's holding back our economy," says Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task.
Yahoo Finance's Henry Blodget agrees that the argument the tax system is hurting the economy is a "complete crock," but he says the "corporate tax situation is a big problem" because companies often do whatever they can -- like moving headquarters overseas AKA "corporate inversions" -- just to save on taxes.
