Dispelling the Myths of Oil

[Local5th]

Last year it was insurance companys to hate, this year it's oil companys. Perhaps that hate is needed to minimize the sucking sound caused by the current administration.

As many Americans finish up their personal tax returns over the next few days, they'll marvel with horror at how much hard-earned cash gets siphoned up by the government. At times like this, it's satisfying to have a corporate bogeyman to hate--like General Electric, which has faced a withering hail of criticism since The New York Times proclaimed last month that the conglomerate paid no federal taxes in 2010, despite $5 billion in U.S. profits. There goes corporate America again, always sticking it to the little guy.

But is there any real reason to believe that? Sure, GE has an army of accountants and lobbyists trying to reduce its tax burden, but wouldn't you if you had $150 billion in worldwide revenue and $14.2 billion in pretax income last year?
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To see if GE was an aberration, we took a look at the 2010 annual reports of the 20 most profitable U.S. companies. Some of the results may surprise you. The average income tax rate within the group was 25.4%. America's three biggest oil companies, ExxonMobil ( XOM - news - people ), Chevron ( CVX - news - people ) and ConocoPhillips ( COP - news - people ), all endure income tax burdens of more than 40%--higher than the statutory U.S. rate of 35%. Exxon, with a 45% rate, tallied $21.6 billion in worldwide income taxes for 2010. Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT - news - people ) paid $7.1 billion (at a rate of 32.4%) in income taxes.

http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/13/ge-exxon-walmart-apple-business-washington-corporate-taxes.html?partner=relatedstoriesbox

[lluke47]

On todays world stage there seems to only be liars who lie to advance their agenda..
I don't believe the lie we only have 2% of the worlds oil reserves nor do I believe some idiot who thinks he can put a number on the amount of oil in a particular country unless they have x-ray eyes like superman...
 
America has enough fossil energy to last over two hundred years with just the known reserves not counting coal and natural gas, surely we will have come up with something better within 200 years..
 
So, NO, I don't believe most of these people, especially the eco-nut liberal types who would put us back into the stone age with their mother earth ignorance...

[hoosier_daddy]

taxes today are lower than for the last 58 years and we still have clueless goons bitching about high taxes.  that is one reason for the high deficits, taxes are too low.  if we want to spend more on the military than the next 13 highest spending countries in the world COMBINED...we have to come up with the money from somewhere....

[sweetwater5s9]

Taxes are lower for the poor and middleclass since Bush than over the past decades but:
 
 
US Companies Pay the Highest Taxes in the World
24 US states have higher corporate tax rates than all 14 other countries. 32 US states have higher corporate tax rates than 13 of the 14 countries...

[hoosier_daddy]

no, you are talking about official tax rates, but effective tax rates for corporations is about 17%....we have tax breaks, subsidies and this and that and the other that bring down the effective tax rate by about half. 

[lluke47]

Then hoserhead why don't you 50% that don't pay taxes start paying your fair share or shut your lying whiny mouth..

[Local5th]

we have tax breaks, subsidies and this and that and the other that bring down the effective tax rate by about half. 

Yup. And that's what government does to off set high taxes they place on business to appease idiots.

[hoosier_daddy]

you fuckers don't own any companies, why do you stick up for fat cat big businesses?  don't you see how you are being played for chumps by the repubs?  what idiots.  low grade morons with low paying jobs who want the rich and big corporations to pay less so you can pay more.  useful idiots to the republican party. 

[sweetwater5s9]

you fuckers don't own any companies, why do you stick up for fat cat big businesses?
 
The companies are owned by stockholders right down to little people like you Hooty...

[lluke47]

Facts get in the way for hoserhead...he wants America to be a banana republic..

[Local5th]

you fuckers don't own any companies, why do you stick up for fat cat big businesses?

Because after you steal them blind, you will come after me to support your sorry ass.