MIDDLEPORT —
Long-time readers of this column know that I personally despise federal income taxes. But for as much as I complain about them, I also understand that I have a legal and moral responsibility to pay them. I know that we could not do without constitutionally-authorized expenditures such as national defense.
Professionally, I feel the same way. My business has an obligation to pay Uncle Sam hundreds of thousands of dollars every year because that investment ensures that we have, among other things, the roads upon which our products are transported and the courts which protect our intellectual property. Taxes are at once a necessary evil and an immeasurable benefit. It’s our duty to pay them.
Most businesspeople feel the same way. I say “most” because, according to the Small Business Administration, 99.7 percent of all employers are small businesses, enterprises owned by regular folks like you and me, people who operate local markets, cafes and machine shops and understand the American Dream and the give-and-take required to fulfill that dream. Small businesses couldn’t do it without government and vice-versa.
It’s some of that other 0.3 percent (the large corporations) which, by association, give all corporations a bad name. It’s many of those behemoth entities that see an American marketplace ripe for the picking, yet — through countless loopholes that cater to them specifically — don’t provide the necessary nourishment for that garden of plenty.
Take General Electric, for example: Well-known as a tax evader without peer. In 2010, the company had $5.1 billion in U.S. profits but didn’t pay a single cent in federal taxes. As a matter of fact, they had the audacity to claim a $3.2 billion tax credit.
They weren’t alone in this abuse. Some other businesses pulled off tax avoidance in recent profitable years, among them ExxonMobil and Chevron. It should be noted, interestingly enough, that one large corporation routinely derided as being “un-American” has done a fine job of living up to its end of the bargain to the American people. In 2009, for example, Walmart paid $5.3 billion in federal taxes.
More giants should follow Walmart’s lead. After all, it’s only fair. Confer Plastics has to pay a federal tax, as do all those businesses on Main Street in your hometown. And, so do you and me. So, why shouldn’t — and why don’t — the “big boys?” Where is the justice in our tax system?
It is questions like those that need answering and correction immediately. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know America is in some dire straits. Not only is our government still reeling from a lifestyle of overspending made painfully obvious by the Great Recession, but also, Social Security and Medicare are on their deathbeds. With the Washington political class still as lacking in backbone as ever to make necessary cuts to federal spending and a majority of Americans so grossly addicted to entitlement programs, the talk has been in the Capitol that taxes should be raised, whether through corporate taxes, the income tax or those nefarious payroll taxes that somehow slip under everyone’s radar.
The sights need to be trained elsewhere; why attack the people and small businesses? For all that talk about raising taxes, no one in the halls of Congress has really been serious about closing loopholes and instead fixing our tax laws to collect the hundreds of billions from the giant corporations who don’t see corporate citizenship as actual citizenship. Oh, they may talk a good game, but it’s all bark and no bite. President Obama is especially guilty of that, blasting tax avoidance while appointing GE’s Jeffery Immelt as the head of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness (heck, I’d be an expert on job creation, too, if somehow we didn’t have to pay a corporate tax).
Over the next three columns, I will be analyzing some of the ways that the “evil corporations” (not us good ones) evade their tax obligations, hopefully giving you, the reader, the insight necessary to contact your senator and representative about what needs to be done to ensure everyone pays their fair share..
Opinion
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Bob Confer
Discussion
CONFER: The taxation obligation
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I can clearly see my mistakes
For some reason, God — in his infinite wisdom — made me just shy of perfect. Yes, it’s true. I have faults, but being humble isn’t one of them.
While there are scores of people who would likely disagree, in my opinion, my less-than-20/20 vision ranks right up there amongst my biggest flaws.
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There are bobcats in our area
In recent years, local residents have had the chance to witness some interesting animals within our borders. Among those that generated the most press and most talk were the black bears that frequented the area for a couple of months. The beasts elicited either fear or appreciation, depending on one’s perception of bruins. More often than not, the former emotion ruled the day.
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Governor needs to stay on point
Last week in the governor’s State of the State address, Cuomo said he’s taking on a new job. He’s going to be an advocate for the kids. In fact, Cuomo went so far as to say that he’s going to be the only advocate that kids have.
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CONFER: A warning about the WARN Act
Entrepreneurship has always had its basis in the understanding and handling of the unknown. No business owner has ever known exactly what his customers want, what the markets hold, or what his competitors are doing. But, they’ve always had a good idea about what might happen and, from the theoretical standpoint, what should happen.
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VALLEY: I'm amused by the little things
Am I the only one amused by the fact that few (if any) people have ever seen a woman in a dress like the ones in the fashion section of a newspaper? I’m talking about the illustrated apparel — designed by people with one name — that’s supposed to be what people will be wearing in the next fashion cycle.
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Recognize our hometown heroes
If you haven’t driven through Holley this summer, you’ve missed quite a sight. The light posts and electrical poles throughout the village are adorned with Hometown Heroes banners. Each one recognizes someone from the village who is actively serving in the military. The attractive banners are 72 inches tall and about half as wide and each one is adorned with a large photo of the serviceman/woman along with his or her name and branch.
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VALLEY: Inactive seniors and over-reacting juniors
Have you seen the commercial on television where the young gal who is at the age where she knows everything there is to know about life and the world says something to the effect that a recent study had shown that older people tend to live less of a social life than they did in the past?
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VALLEY: The other side of a tragedy
In late June of 2010, I wrote a column about my friend, Dave Cook. Back then, Dave and his wife, Carol (and daughter, Chelsea) had been through a Hell-ish scare when a liaison with the U.S. Marine Corps had left a message about their son, Sgt. Trevor T. Cook. Trevor was serving in Afghanistan at the time.
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CONFER: The real story behind your power bill
As long as the Public Service Commission allows a pending rate change from National Grid — and there’s no reason they wouldn’t — the electric company’s customers will see significant savings come Jan. 1. The bill for the typical household/apartment will be nearly $9.50 lower per month, while homeowners with families (who use more power) drop by almost $16. That’s $114 and $192 in extra spending money per year. Not too shabby.
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VALLEY: Don't take offense to this
I was making a delivery last week in my Napa pick-up truck when I noticed another truck several car lengths ahead of me. At first, I thought that it, too, was a work truck, because I could see a large sign across the tailgate.
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I can clearly see my mistakes
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