In case you want another excuse to shout “tax the wealthy” from the rooftops, it is right here, and it is going to make you indignant. A research by the Institute for Coverage Research and People for Tax Equity discovered that 35 main U.S. firms paid their prime 5 executives greater than they paid in federal revenue taxes between 2018 and 2022, the Guardian reviews.
The findings are even much less stunning while you study the worst offender: Tesla.
Elon Musk’s firm earned $4.4 billion throughout these 5 years and gave its executives $2.5 billion. Regardless of that, Tesla not solely did not pay any federal taxes, nevertheless it acquired $1 million in refunds from the federal government. Musk himself is the second richest particular person on the earth, with Forbes reporting he had a internet price of $207.9 billion at first of March.
Tesla is one among 35 firms that paid much less federal revenue tax than they paid their prime 5 executives throughout that interval. In whole, the well-deserving and not-at-all grasping execs of those firms raked in $9.5 billion over these years, whereas cumulatively those self same firms acquired $1.8 billion again from the federal government. Eighteen of those companies reported internet income over the 5 years however did not pay a cent of federal revenue tax. (All however one bought refunds).
The research lists different notable firms like T-Cellular, Netflix, Ford Motor alongside Tesla:
T-Cellular made $17.9 billion, paid executives $675 million and acquired $80 million in refunds. The cellular supplier has spent an unbelievable sum of money on lobbying Congress for tax breaks, spending $9 million in 2022 alone. Netflix really did pay some taxes, however the $236 million was simply 1.6 p.c of its $15.1 billion in earnings — and simply over a 3rd of what it paid these prime 5 executives. The statutory price for federal revenue tax is 21 p.c, so yeah, be at liberty to scream.
Replace, March 14 2024, 6:23AM ET: An earlier model of this report cited Match Group, which was cited in a separate report on company taxation.
