Donald Trump has become the country’s most notorious tax shirker. And while his long avoidance of federal income taxes is extreme, it’s also part of a larger problem.
The most affluent and powerful parts of our society have too easy a time legally avoiding taxes.
David LeonhardtConsider corporate taxes, which ultimately tend to be paid by the well-off, because they own the most stock. The official corporate rate is 35 percent, infamously higher than in any other advanced economy. Yet there are so many loopholes that companies often pay relatively little in tax.
Many companies work hard to shroud how much they really pay, sprinkling various figures throughout their complex financial statements. But companies must report one number that provides a good glimpse. It’s called cash taxes paid – the combined amount that a company pays in federal, state, local and even foreign taxes.
I asked the analysts at S&P Global Market Intelligence to calculate this number since 2007 for this country’s 500 largest public companies, and the results reveal a broken tax system. Fixing it should be an early priority for the next president.