Voices

Corporations Lowering Their Own Taxes

For all the talk of corporate tax reform to lower the rate in the U.S., many companies have long been taking matters into their own hands, paying taxes at rates far lower than the statutory level of 35 percent.

The New York Times featured an illuminating report on how companies like cruise ship operator Carnival can pay an effective rate of only 1.1 percent. It’s hard to get your corporate tax rate much lower than that. Boeing paid only about 4.5 percent and Southwest Airlines only 6.3 percent.

If tax reformers expect corporations to go along with the elimination of their favored tax loopholes just so there isn’t a 35 percent statutory maximum in place, then they haven’t heard from the lobbyists yet.

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