From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Thu Jul 21 2005 - 03:07:22 BST
Hi all,
Someone said:
As for the Enron debacle, I wouldn't take that case or cases like it and
condemn the entire "corporate power structure" which provides goods,
services and jobs for millions, not to mention most of the tax base.
msh 7-20-05:
This is the "few bad apples" fallacy. See my previous post regarding
the top 100 corporate criminals of the 90s.
As for the question of taxes, according to data available at the Tax
Policy Center, there were a couple of years during the New Deal 30's,
and a few more years during WWII, when corporate income taxes paid
were just slightly higher than the amount paid by individuals. After
that, the gap between taxes paid by corporations and individuals
steadily increased in favor of the corporations, with slight
slowdowns (but still increasing) in the Johnson 60's and Clinton
90's.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/TaxFacts/TFDB/TFTemplate.cfm?Docid=203
In 1965 the split was 66% individual, 34% corporations. In 2004, the
split was 82% individual, 18% corporations.
"A recent Congressional study reported that 63% of US corporations
paid no income taxes at all in 2000. Six in ten American corporations
reported no tax liability for the five years from 1996 through 2000,
even though corporate profits were growing at record-breaking levels
during that period. "
Who Really Pays Taxes in America?
By Cheryl Woodard, Executive Director of AskQuestions.org
http://www.askquestions.org/articles/taxes/#10
Here are the first three paragraphs of Woodward's report:
Fifteen years ago, socialite Leona Helmsley bragged, “only the little
people pay taxes,” but then she went to jail for tax fraud.
Unfortunately, Helmsley's statement is even more accurate today than
it was at the time.
Tax fraud is estimated at $311 billion this year, more than the
entire budget for Medicare, and more than last year's revenues at
Walmart or General Electric. Most cheaters go unpunished. What’s
worse, the legal tax system is rigged to favor rich people and large
corporations at the expense of ordinary citizens and small
businesses. Even when everybody abides by the law, middle-income
households pay more taxes than rich ones. And politicians keep
handing out tax favors to their campaign contributors – at our
expense.
A chorus of academics, journalists, and private citizens are warning
that a tax system favoring the rich fuels the growing concentration
of wealth in America – and therefore threatens our economic growth
and even our democracy.
msh 7-20-05:
Please note the last para, apropos of the subject of this post, and
of my suggesting that huge disparities in wealth can lead to the
destabilization of a society. Thus, my belief that, in a sustainable
moral society, limits will be placed on the accumulation of
individual wealth.
Thanks to all,
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
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