California State Senator Kevin De Leon (D) has had enough of corporate tax dodging in his state.
If you have a dollar in your wallet, you have more money than Bank of America paid in taxes in 2010. That’s because a variety of corporations have bought off politicians and rigged the tax code so that they pay little to nothing at all in taxes, with some even getting generous tax benefits.
One California state senator is trying to put an end to one form of this tax-dodging. California state senator Kevin de Leon (D) is backing Proposition 39, which would “close a $1 billion corporate tax loophole” that allows corporations who have employees outside the state but who sell heavily in the state to take advantage of special tax breaks to keep their rates super-low.
Asking corporations to pay their fair share has raised the hackles of Big Business, and a number of corporations have started spending big against the measure, doing everything they can to turn voters against it.
De Leon is throwing down the gauntlet against these companies. He has requested a televised debate with the CEOs of General Motors, International Paper, and Kimberly-Clark — three corporations overtly opposing Prop. 39.
“The loophole allows you to sell products and services to the largest consumer market in the country while paying very little in taxes ai??i?? and considerably less in taxes than California companies must pay.Ai?? It makes perfect sense for out-of-state companies that are padding their profits, but for California taxpayers and businesses, it makes absolutely no sense at all,” he wrote in his open letter to the three CEOs. “I am prepared to explain to Californians why we believe eliminating the loophole and leveling the playing field for California businesses is in the best interest of the state.Ai?? I welcome the three of you to explain why you felt the same way in other states, but not in California.”
De Leon is patiently waiting on a response from the corporate titans. Read his full letter to themAi??here.
Good! De Leon is doing the sensible thing for California! I applaud him.
Every person I know, republican or democrat, takes every deduction available to them at tax time. It is a double standard to then write articles, challenge companies to debates, or just privately complain, when companies do the same thing. Instead of complaining about companies that are still in the USA, taking advantage of the tax laws, we should be glad that tax breaks kept these companies here to offer jobs and services.
If we don’t like the tax law, then we should push for a flat tax. Then there is no hiding. If that tax was 25% a person who makes $35,000.00 he would or $8,750.00 in taxes. If a person makes $1,000,000.00 he would pay $250,000.00 in taxes. If a company makes $1 billion, they would pay $250,000,000.00 in Taxes. I do not understand why democrats are opposed to this.
Here’s something to remember. Lobbying by big corporations is one of the main reasons these special exemptions and deductions exist in the first place.