Did you or your family pay federal income tax last year?
Bank of America didn't.
That's right. Bank of America, the largest bank in America, paid ZERO federal income tax in 2009 (2010 figures not yet available). Even though its income was $4.4 billion and its assets are over $2.2 trillion. Nevertheless, it paid $0 taxes.1 And BofA is not alone. Wells Fargo, GE, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Boeing and many other corporate titans paid no taxes either.2 In fact, two-thirds of all US corporations have found ways to not pay any federal income taxes!3
That's a big part of why we are having government budget crises. Because giant corporations and the super wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes. Which means either you have to pay more taxes, we have to borrow and run up our national debt, or we
have to cut important government services like aid to education, veterans services, and infrastructure investments.
And why don’t corporations pay taxes? Because they have manipulated the system and, frankly, our government as well.
Big Business and the Very Rich give generous campaign contributions to Congress members, and then have their paid lobbyists get special laws passed that benefit them (but which hurt the rest of us). For example, despite receiving $45 billion in taxpayer bailout funds in 2008 & 09, BofA took tax deductions of $2.1 billion in 2009, and then funneled much of its income through 115 foreign tax-haven subsidiaries, to help it avoid paying taxes.4 You can’t do that…but they can.
Are you angry? Every American should be. And many are. But have you noticed how some Republican conservatives and Tea Partyers have tried to redirect our anger away from the real problem by trying to get us to blame "big government," minorities, and unions for all our budget problems. When the real villains are excessive corporate power in America and the obscene wealth accumulation by the super rich. BofA gets its lobbyists to get special tax laws passed so it doesn’t have to pay any taxes…and then pays its CEO $30 million!5 (it would take the average American worker 1000 years to earn that amount!).
Contact Bank of America at: BofA-Executive Relations, 100 N. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28255 and tell them you pay taxes and that you don’t like their corporate ethics of avoiding paying their fair share…the taxes we all need to keep our country going and growing.
Call Mike Thompson, (202-225-3311), Diane Feinstein (202-224-3481), and Barbara Boxer (202-224-3553) and tell them that you’re sick of the growing inequality of wealth in America and how our government is being subverted to favor the “rich and privileged.”
If you’d like to learn more – or to join us in our fight to reduce the power of corporations and end the special tax policies that favor the super rich -- please contact the Mendocino Coast Chapter of The Alliance for Democracy, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 937-1113.
1 http://usuncut.org/files/US-Uncut-DC-Fact-Sheet-Sources.rtf
2 http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2011/03/ten_giant_us_companies_avoidin.html
3 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081102324.html
4 http://businessagainsttaxhavens.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/TaxHaven.pdf
5
http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/
