Loopholes allow businesses to steal

From a place the neocons will certainly scoff att, the american progress report comes this:

The Carnival Corporation's cruise lines benefit from federal, state and local services, yet over the past five years, the company has paid only 1.1 percent of its $11.3 billion in profits in total taxes "thanks to an obscure loophole in the tax code." Likewise, of the 500 big companies on the S&P stock index, 115 paid a total tax rate of less than 20 percent while 39 paid less than 10 percent.

From another they'll deny:

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Why should our govermnent, via the coast guard, do anything for cruise ships and their passengers, if we can't give gramma a heart transplant for free?

Reply to
Gary L. Burnore
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With governments looking for more revenue, the real elephant in the room is state sales tax avoidance by internet based sellers and their customers. Big time sellers, including Amazon, do not collect sales taxes for most states they ship to because they do not have "nexus", described as a physical presence in the state. Some argue that the pass on sales tax collections was necessary when internet business were just getting started, to help develop the businesses. Now, the net-based businesses have grown, yet are still not paying sales taxes, cheating states out of needed revenue. Internet giants like Amazon also harm local brick and mortar businesses, that are required to collect taxes on sales ... putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

States could reap billions of dollars in revenue to solve budget shortages if this sales tax loophole was closed. Why aren't the big business critics complaining? Isn't it about time to tax internet and mail-order sales??? Norskey in MN

Reply to
Norskey

edspyhill01 writes ..."If they get back more than they paid in taxes then it is stealing". That begs the question about earned income credits paid to those who pay no income tax. Is that stealing, too? It meets your criteria for stealing! What about ANY form of income re-distribution? Stealing? Norskey

Reply to
Norskey

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