Cutting Taxes to Create Jobs is a Lie

For thirty years, Republicans have behaved exactly like dolls with pull strings. Tug on the back, and they repeat, without fail, "we need to cut taxes on businesses so they can create jobs". Likewise, for thirty years, Democrats have tried to tell Republicans that this is a terrible idea. "Reality" has tried slapping the GOP upside the head with facts about how tax rates are not really tied to an economy's performance, and that cutting taxes on businesses simply pushes the burden for government spending on to the middle class. Republicans, it seems, have not and will not learn the lessons of history. And so, here we are, a nation paralyzed by something as trivial as raising the debt ceiling, with lawmakers on both sides pushing for everything from cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment. Off the table? Tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and tax increases on American corporations. Why, you might ask, are politicians from both political parties trying to balance a $14 trillion debt by cutting off food aid for grandma? Because the majority of them, particularly those on the right wing, are religiously devoted to the idea that taxes are bad. Taxes are evil. Taxing people, especially rich people, is a sin. After all, they argue, taxing businesses kills jobs, right? Wrong. In terms of any company of notable size, the corporate tax rate is 35%. That's 35% after deductions. Deductions to corporate rates can be pretty high, if you've got really good accountants and really good lobbyists (to bribe Congress into doing what you want). What do corporations really pay in taxes? Let's look. Here's a list of companies that paid a lot less in taxes lately than you have. The list was compiled by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his office.

• Exxon Mobil XOM made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.

• Bank of America BAC received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion.

• Over the past five years, while General Electric GE made $26 billion in profits in the United States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from the IRS.

• Chevron CVX received a $19 million refund from the IRS last year after it made $10 billion in profits in 2009.

• Boeing BA, which received a $30 billion contract from the Pentagon to build 179 airborne tankers, got a $124 million refund from the IRS last year.

• Valero Energy VLO, the 25th largest company in America with $68 billion in sales last year received a $157 million tax refund check from the IRS and, over the past three years, it received a $134 million tax break from the oil and gas manufacturing tax deduction.

• Goldman Sachs GSin 2008 only paid 1.1 percent of its income in taxes even though it earned a profit of $2.3 billion and received an almost $800 billion from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department.

• Citigroup C last year made more than $4 billion in profits but paid no federal income taxes. It received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury.

• ConocoPhillips COP, the fifth largest oil company in the United States, made $16 billion in profits from 2007 through 2009, but received $451 million in tax breaks through the oil and gas manufacturing deduction.

• Over the past five years, Carnival Cruise Lines CCL made more than $11 billion in profits, but its federal income tax rate during those years was just 1.1 percent.

That's just a snapshot of some of the biggest, most egregious examples of corporate income taxes being at or below zero. And yet, we're told that grandma has to die without food and medicine so these same corporations can avoid paying higher taxes (or in these cases, really ANY taxes)? How is that even a legitimate debate point in this country? A similar argument is made that corporations need lower taxes, so they can take that tax money and use it to hire more workers. The idea is that lower taxes lead to more jobs. That sure sounds reasonable on some level, doesn't it? How does it work in practice? Well, as of now, corporate America is sitting on $2 trillion (and climbing) in cash. They're not hiring. In fact, in many cases, corporations are downsizing, despite booming revenues! You don't even have to listen to me on this one. How about this quote, from that noted left-wing socialist/communist rag "Fortune" magazine? "The Fortune 500 generated nearly $10.8 trillion in total revenues last year, up 10.5 percent. Total profits soared 81 percent. But guess who didn't benefit much from this giant wave of cash? Millions of U.S. workers stuck mired in a stagnant job market." That's right. Corporate America took in a 10.5 percent gain in revenues and rewarded the American people how? By slashing jobs where possible and refusing to invest that money in new jobs, anywhere. The most notable hiring binge from the last year was McDonalds MCD, which is great if you're a teenager looking for discounts on milkshakes, and not so great if you've got kids who needs shoes and clothes. Who's been cutting jobs? How about we use this space to shame them for being anti-patriotic and cutting American jobs during a recession. Douchebag Companies that Cut Workers Despite the End of the Recession

• Nokia NOK cut 4,000 jobs or 3% of its workforce.

• Goldman Sachs cut 1,000 jobs or 2.8% of its workforce. (Even after all the bailouts? Impressively awful, GS!)

• Cisco Systems CSCO cut 6,500 jobs or 9.2% of its workforce. Way to go, Cisco! Way to step up for the team!

• Lockheed Martin LMT cut 1,500 jobs or 1.14% of its workforce. This despite being on the payroll of the US government and a part of the war machine...during two, maybe three, wars! That's impressive!

Let's recap. Despite two massive wars, a war machine company needed to cut jobs. Despite banksters that own the government and rule the universe, Goldman had to lay people off. Despite a tech boom, Cisco laid off ten percent of its workers. And despite every single American upgrading their phone every 6 months, Nokia had to dump three percent of its workforce. Note that this all happened despite piles of cash reserves, economic inflows that were all but guaranteed, and an improving economy. Despite that, and despite already-low taxes, these bastards are cutting jobs. And they have the nerve to ask for more tax cuts? By now, one thing should be clear. When politicians say we need to cut taxes on businesses to provide jobs, they're absolutely full of it. They might be misinformed by staff. They might be lying to you. They might not know their ass from their elbow. They might be blinded by the religion of tax cuts, which is as powerful a force in the GOP as Jesus can be. Or, in the case of traitors like Eric Cantor (who is pushing the country into default while owning securities that will rise in value if the US defaults), they might just be in it for the money. After all, half of Congress is comprised of millionaires, many of whom own their own businesses and almost all of whom own stocks. So, as it turns out, we get to the real story: a tax cut for the wealthy just happens to benefit...themselves. You can reach the author by email john@benzinga.com or on twitter @johndthorpe.