Tax Dodging Corporations Hear from the 99%!

Hundreds of protesters chant 'Pay your fair share" outside the Marriott Renaissance Center where the General Electric annual shareholders meeting was being held in Detroit, Mich. on Wednesday.From MSNBC

The 99% Spring has sprung! The 99% are targeting tax dodging corporations all over our nation and occupying shareholder's meetings. Many buy one share to gain access and then chant "Pay your fair share." once inside.

One activist who traveled 6 hours with nine others said, "Basically (we are) citizens who are mistreated by corporations, by which I mean corporations moving jobs overseas, not paying taxes ...  just so they can get richer."

A spokesman for GE said they paid taxes of $2.6 billion. He lied.

"The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States. Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion." (New York Times, March 24, 2011) The article went on to say that they use  "an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore."


The fact is that most corporations, many with record profits, pay NOTHING in taxes and in many cases get huge refunds. This is happening while the 99% struggle everyday to keep their jobs, or find one, to keep their homes, to put food on the table, and to keep up with rising costs. People are also mad as hell that Wall Street used bailout money to give themselves multimillion dollar bonuses and to ramp up lobbying and political contributions to expand the unfair advantage they get from tax shelters, tax credits and subsidies.

There are more than 30 actions planned at other shareholder meetings, plus hundreds of other events planned for this 99% Spring.

In the 1950's, corporate taxes accounted for 30% of all revenue- In 2009 it accounted for 6.6%. And we wonder why times are so tough. End corporate welfare!

The day before the GE protest, 500 showed up at Wells Fargo calling for a moratorium on foreclosures
 Photo: Lisa Pickoff -White/KQED

.And on May 1 Occupy Wall Street is calling for a general strike!
"For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed from over 125 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice."
  

May Day Rally and March

	Vassar College Outdoor Space Library Lawn
	Tuesday, May 01, 2012 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
	Campus Activities,Student Activities
:	femartinez@vassar.edu

http://www.care2.com/causes/may-day-occupy-wall-street-gears-up-for-nationwide-strike.html

Stand up for Workers- Demand the Rich Pay Their Share!

JOIN US FOR THE RALLY TOMORROW!! 

Feb 24, Thursday, 12-12:30, 291 Wall St, Kingston

Ulster County MoveOn Council

Wisconsin Protester                                                                            buzzfeed.com

"Why is a 3% tax increase on the richest considered “socialism” but a 14% pay cut on middle class is “doing your part?” from a woman named Jennie on Twitter

The American people are "getting it". Rightwing political stooges, like Gov Scott Walker, are out to do the bidding of their billionaire, corporate masters; make draconian cuts to services for the poor and middle class, bust unions, remove regulations and continue to loot the middle class.There are well over 100 rallies planned all over the country tomorrow to support workers, oppose cuts to the neediest and demand the rich pay their share (click here to find one near you). In the case of Wisconsin, the Koch brothers who brought Scott Walker to power, not only want to destroy the unions, but they also want to be able to buy state-owned power plants for pennies on the dollar. Tucked into Walker's budget bill is a provision that allows him to sell off public utilities without competing bids. This guy is such an amateur. I just listened to the prank call, Walker took, thinking he was talking to David Koch. You can tell Walker is excited to be talking to his big honcho patron. In the 20 minutes they talked, Walker details his plans to bust the unions, compares himself to Reagan, talks of his growing popularity and says "This is our time to change the course of history." N'er a mention of the budget crisis.  At one point "Koch" suggests planting some trouble makers in the crowd of peacefully protesting workers. Walker decides not to, but admits "We already thought of that."

States across the country are experiencing budget shortfalls- not because of union demands (the protesters in WI said they were willing to cut benefits- but Walker is holding out for the end of collective bargaining for public employees) but because of the fraud and recklessness of Wall Street that depleted pension funds. The states have a collective budget shortfall of about one hundred billion and I know just the place they can find it!

Corporations in our country have not been paying their share for years. Yes, we have a high corporate tax rate- but what good is it if everyone uses loopholes like offshore havens to avoid paying, in many cases, anything at all. It is estimated that we taxpayers every year have to make up the hundred billion they are dodging. UK Uncut is a grassroots movement that is exposing the corruption there and US Uncut just launched in this country (they are having rallies across the country Saturday and MoveOn is calling for a 50 state response in the state capitols that day too!). The IRS estimates that very rich individuals and corporations are hiding $5 trillion in tax havens. End corporate tax dodging- it is economic treason!

We also need to seriously cut the Pentagon. With interest on the debt to pay for unfunded wars, we are paying over one trillion a year on "defense". A thousand billion dollars. Please don't forget that on the day before 9/11, Rumsfeld announced that the Pentagon could not account for $2.3 trillion! They just did not know where it went. They routinely cannot account for 25% of their money due to waste, incompetence and corruption. We should be looking for billions there so that we don't have to take food from hungry children, or let old people freeze in their homes.

Tomorrow, we will be thanking Rep Hinchey for standing up for the poor and middle class, but we will be making demands too- may the demands from thousands across the country reverberate and begin to take down some sacred cows that if left unchecked will turn us into a third world oligarchy. Sign up here.

And here is a great video of the Wisconsin movement. It's hard to believe a right wing deputy attorney general in Wisconsin suggested using live ammunition against these upstanding Americans. Jeff Fox should be fired! (update- sometimes justice is swift!)

If you live in the Hudson Valley, hope to see you tomorrow!


Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.