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Baltimore Residents Join National Tax Day Protests, Call on 1% and Corporations to Pay Their Fair Share
As Baltimoreans rushed to the city’s main post office to file their taxes by the April 17 deadline, taxpayers across the street at Shot Tower Park gathered for a rally calling on tax dodgers to pay their fair share.
The protest, one of hundreds happening around the country today, highlighted the fact that some of the most profitable U.S. corporations are exploiting loopholes to evade paying billions in taxes. Participants, wearing stickers with the message, “I paid my fair share, the 1% should too,” spoke out against a backdrop of visuals representing vital public services facing deep budget cuts like schools, libraries and infrastructure projects.
Recent reports from Citizens for Tax Justice show that 26 of the most profitable U.S. corporations, including Wells Fargo, Exelon, and GE, have paid negative federal income tax rates between 2008 and 2011. Had they paid the full 35 percent corporate tax rate over this period, they would have paid at least $78 billion in taxes—funds that would have been available for vital public services.
Maryland residents don’t have to look far to see the consequences of corporate tax dodging. Our state’s recently enacted “doomsday” budget raises the specter of the loss of millions in funding for already woefully underfunded public services. In education, the cuts could mean a loss in per-pupil funding of over $11 million, a devastating blow to Baltimore’s city school system, where over 70 percent of our schools are already rated in “poor condition.”
Organizers of the protest are demanding that Congress support the Buffett Rule (H.R. 3909, S.2230) and that they also take action to close tax loopholes that let corporations pay lower tax rates than regular working people.
Tell greedy corporations to pay their taxes
Corporations are always complaining about high tax rates in the United States. However, a recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, shows that 30 highly profitable Fortune 500 companies paid no net federal come tax from 2008 through 2010.
As tax day approaches, we need you to write a letter to local papers to get the message out there: Corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes. You will find all the instructions after you click the link. We’ve even provided a sample letter for you. It will only take a few minutes to help us with a worthy cause.
Wells Fargo receives massive corporate subsidies, depriving Maryland of over $82 million in much needed funds
The recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-10,” lists 249 corporations that paid less than their fair share in federal corporate income taxes in 2010.
In other words, 249 of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations paid less than the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate of 35% in 2010. Instead, these 249 companies got a 2010 federal tax subsidy totaling over $87.27 billion.
One of these corporations, Wells Fargo, got a 2010 federal tax subsidy of OVER $4.42 BILLION. Maryland’s share of this massive corporate tax giveaway comes to OVER $82 MILLION.
That’s over $82 million that could have gone to pay for:
- Medicaid
- Food, home energy, and housing assistance for the poor
- The Earned Income Tax Credit, the nation’s largest anti-poverty program
- Education programs for low-income preschoolers, special needs students and undergraduates
- Disability compensation for veterans
If Wells Fargo had paid its fair share in 2010, what could it have meant for spending on these vital programs in Maryland?
JOB CREATION — Over 130 jobs created from additional health care spending.
HEALTH CARE — Over $8 million for Medicaid – enough to serve over 1,200 people.
FEEDING THE POOR — Over $2 million for anti-hunger programs, including:
- Over $1 million in food stamp benefits – enough to feed over 940 people. Over $173,000 in WIC benefits – enough to feed over 360 low-income mothers and children.
- Over $361,000 in nutritional assistance for low-income school-age children – enough to provide over 216,000 meals to over 810 children.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND UTILITIES
- Over $970,000 for rental assistance – enough to help over 110 families find decent, affordable housing.
- Over $151,000 in home energy assistance – enough to help over 220 households keep warm during the winter and cool during the summer.
QUALITY EDUCATION — Over $1 million for education programs, including:
- Over $165,000 in aid for high-poverty schools – the equivalent of providing extra academic support for over 190 at-risk students.
- Over $333,000 for schools to provide services to students with disabilities – the equivalent of helping to improve educational outcomes for over 170 students.
- Over $632,000 in Pell Grants – enough to help over 160 low-income students pay for college.
- Over $140,000 for Head Start – enough to help over 10 low-income preschoolers develop early math and reading skills.
LIFTING FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY — Over $1 million in Earned Income Tax Credits – enough to help lift over 570 households out of poverty.
TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO SERVE — Over $910,000 in disability compensation for veterans – the equivalent of helping over 100 disabled veterans and their families.
Exelon receives massive corporate subsidies, depriving Maryland of $17 million in much needed funds
The recent Citizens for Tax Justice report, “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-10,” lists 249 corporations that paid less than their fair share in federal corporate income taxes in 2010.
In other words, 249 of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations paid less than the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate of 35% in 2010. Instead, these 249 companies got a 2010 federal tax subsidy totaling over $87.27 billion.
One of these corporations, Exelon, got a 2010 federal tax subsidy of OVER $914 MILLION. This is the same Exelon that is acquiring BGE and parent company Constellation energy.
Maryland’s share of this massive corporate tax giveaway comes to OVER $17 MILLION.
That’s over $17 million that could have gone to pay for:
- Medicaid
- Food, home energy, and housing assistance for the poor
- The Earned Income Tax Credit, the nation’s largest anti-poverty program
- Education programs for low-income preschoolers, special needs students, and undergraduates
- Disability compensation for veterans
What if Exelon had paid its fair share in 2010? What could it have meant for spending on these vital programs in Maryland?
HEALTH CARE: Over $1 million for Medicaid – enough to serve over 200 people.
FEEDING THE POOR: Over $414,000 for anti-hunger programs, including…
- Over $304,000 in food stamp benefits – enough to feed over 190 people.
- Over $35,000 in WIC benefits – enough to feed over 70 low-income mothers and children.
- Over $74,000 in nutritional assistance for low-income school-age children – enough to provide over 44,000 meals to over 160 children.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND UTILITIES: Over $200,000 for rental assistance – enough to help over 20 families find decent, affordable housing. Over $31,000 in home energy assistance – enough to help over 40 households keep warm during the winter and cool during the summer.
QUALITY EDUCATION: Over $262,000 for education programs, including…
- Over $34,000 in aid for high-poverty schools – the equivalent of providing extra academic support for over 40 at-risk students.
- Over $68,000 for schools to provide services to students with disabilities – the equivalent of helping to improve educational outcomes for over 30 students.
- Over $130,000 in Pell Grants – enough to help over 30 low-income students pay for college.
LIFTING FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY: Over $251,000 in Earned Income Tax Credits – enough to help lift over 110 households out of poverty.
TAKING CARE OF THOSE WHO SERVE: Over $188,000 in disability compensation for veterans – the equivalent of helping over 20 disabled veterans and their families.