Local Businesses React to NHPIRG Report

By NH PIRG

With the second anniversary approaching of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, NHPIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice reveal 30 corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

The report, Representation without Taxation: Fortune 500 Companies that Spend Big on Lobbying and Avoid Taxes, takes a close look at corporate tax policy. By exploiting loopholes and special provisions in the tax code, 280 consistently profitable Fortune 500 companies paid about half the statutory corporate tax rate while spending $2 billion to lobby Congress.

The report also points to the “Dirty Thirty” particularly aggressive tax avoiders that spent more on federal lobbying than income taxes between 2008 and 2010. Twenty-nine of these corporations actually received a net tax rebate during the three year period of the study.

“Special interest influence will continue to grow and drown out the voices of ordinary Americans, and our tax policy will continue to reflect that unless we get corporate money out of elections,” said NHPIRG consumer advocate Addie Shankle.

At least 22 of the thirty companies studied had subsidiaries in tax haven countries.  The “Dirty Thirty” companies  made $163.7 billion in profits while paying zero dollars in federal income taxes and collecting a total of $10.6 billion in various tax rebates. Meanwhile, they collectively spent $475.7 million in lobbying expenses for the three year period.

Deborah DeMoulpied from in Concord, had this to say, "Big corporations are not paying their fair share. So we have to pay taxes and they don’t. And chances are that they’re taking their businesses out of America and Americans are loosing their jobs, and in these hard economic times. I’m totally opposed to Citizens United. I do not believe that corporations are people and it’s a shame that that same money could not be better spent helping other Americans. It’s ludicrous that the amount of money spent on lobbying ... when we have so many people in need."

Angella Chen runs a small hair salon in Manchester, and she says that when she hears reports of how corporations spend on lobbying she can’t relate. She said that if her business picked up, she’d like to hire a hair dresser for the empty chair in her salon, not a lobbyist.

“I would not be hiring a lobbyist. I can barely afford to take care of my business. The smaller folks still have to pay taxes. I wish I could do more for the community, but a lot of my clients have lost their jobs and I am just trying to stay afloat. A lobbyist - how do you pay someone?”
 
The offices of both our congressmen and our senators were contacted by NH PIRG and invited to comment as generally or specifically as they’d like on offshore tax havens, corporate tax loopholes, or corporate money in our elections. Spokespeople for both U.S. Rep. and U.S. Rep. returned our emails promptly but politely declined to provide any statement or comment, as did a spokesman for U.S. Sen. . Phone calls and emails to U.S. Sen. were not returned.