How does the federal government subsidize companies? Let us count the ways:
1.
Reduced income tax rates; reference the new tax
code
2.
Many tax deductions for special expenses,
investments, special circumstances
3.
Tax credits from previous year’s activities ‘saved’
for a forward year’s tax bite
4.
Sequestering earnings in foreign lands from
taxes in the US
5.
Social programs for low paid employees of the
corporation; Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs made available because the
wage/salary scales are insufficient
6.
Roads, bridges and everyday infrastructure used
heavily by corporations without directly paying for same; or the wear and tear on same
7.
Use of publicly schooled persons for their
employee pool when they don’t support the public education program by much
compared with a private individual or property tax payer
8.
The list goes on and on
Additionally, corporations are often special ‘vendors’ to government for these industries:
a.
Education
b.
Military
c.
Space exploration
d.
Technology
e.
Communications
f.
Transportation, all kinds
g.
Research and development projects
h.
Banking and monetary system
i.
Commerce and trade system
j.
Agriculture
k.
Food and drug safety
l.
More…
Corporations are often protected by regulations and protocols sponsored by the federal government. They get special treatment. They have protection from competition in many ways. They have product protection and safety, too. All these elements are functions of government, but no direct tax is levied against corporations for this form of support. We all pay for it, we the taxpaying public.
Many of the protections listed above are reasonable, but there is a cost for this. Who pays and who complains? Usually the corporations complain and we taxpayers pay the bill.
It is time for all businesses to own up to their responsibilities for citizenship in America. They should be treated the same and as fairly as all other tax payers.
March 6, 2019
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