Low Taxes Always – For Wal-Mart - Too Bad for the States

What you really mean Mr. Simley, is that it WOULD ADD COSTS TO WAL-MART! Isn’t it about time these corporate income tax sheleters were shut down? Bravo to Rhode Island! More states should follow suit.

Jane

Wal-Mart is not breaking the law here. They are merely taking advantage of existing tax policy, as any savvy individual or corporation does. If you don’t like this loophole, pressure your legislators to close it. While you’re at it, close the Earned Income Credit Handout (cost: $70 billion per year) and the Mortgage Deduction (cost: $80 billion per year). What do you say to people who have no children and/or no mortgage? Why should they subsidize people who have made the choice to have children or sign for a mortgage? Aren’t kids and housing YOUR responsibility? Why should I pay for it?

This is money that RESPONSIBLE taxpayers have to make up!

Nick,

“Aren’t kids and housing YOUR responsibility? Why should I pay for it?”

And what about the subsidies for public schools?  Most of that is paid for by real estate taxes, I have NO children in school, yet, I paid $1791.39 in school taxes.  But, the parents of the majority of children that go to the public schools, rent, so they don’t pay real estate taxes!!  And, many are probably on welfare as well!!

I read this article in yesterday’s WSJ. Funny that the anti-Wal-Marters didn’t mention that Bank Of America and several other corporations also benefit from this tax loophole.

Bob,

I agree. I don’t believe in property taxes to fund public schools because I don’t believe in public funding of education. Also, property taxes take away your Property rights. This is because you never own your property. Even if it is paid for, you always have the burden of taxes and the threat of confiscation hanging over your head. In Allegeheny County (Pittsburgh’s county) they brought in an outside company to assess the real estate, a few years back. This company decided that the local real estate was undervalued for so long, it was time to catch up. Homes that had been purchased for $10,000 in 1960 and could now be sold for $50,000 were suddenly assessed at $130,000. Overnight, many residents saw a huge increase in property taxes. Now, could they sell their property for the new assessment value? Generally, no, at least not until the cheap mortgages came around. What happened is, many people, especially seniors, could not afford the increased taxes. Month after month, the City of Pittsburgh seizes property and auctions it off for taxes. People are homeless because their property rights have been taken away. Who buys the property? Why, lawyers. Lawyers know how to work the system and if you look closely, you will see that a great majority of repos are picked up by lawyers and their friends.

You do not have property rights if you are obligated to make payments AFTER you have paid for the property, if you are obligated to make the payments or lose your property. It is like a perpetual mortgage held by the government. Thus, it does not actually belong to you and property rights do not exist.

...the Rhode Island legislature has introduced a bill to shut down a popular corporate income tax shelter used by Wal-Mart.

And if it doesn’t take root in Rhode Island it will somewhere. If you put your ear to the ground you can hear the “legal” loopholes closing. Reminescent of a hangman’s noose, don’t cha’ think?

Once again the cost of the Beast doing business seems to be going up.

Ken V,

“Once again the cost of the Beast doing business seems to be going up.”

And, because a corporation doesn’t really pay taxes, they just act as a middleman, the losers will be the customers and employees, as taxes are Always passed on!!  So, in essense, it just goes back to the taxpayers, loophole or no loophole!!

Bob

You are absolutely correct. For some reason, most Americans lack logic or even the most basic knowledge of economics. I see this every day. The problem is almost not fixable when you have people like Mrs. Bill Clinton decrying the “obscene” profits of the oil industry (despite the fact that government earns more than twice as much as the oil companies and despite the fact that oil has lower profit margins than financial services, pharma, consumer goods, software & banking). The public hears this and picks up on it because most people are too stupid to do their own research. By making it more expensive to do business, we send jobs offshore and contribute to lower wage increases for the remaining jobs.

The reality is, corporations and the wealthy pay a huge percentage of all taxes in this country. There are millions of welfare bums who pay no taxes, of course, and then there are the working class welfare bums, those who drain money off those of us who do not have children or owe on a mortgage. There are more than 30 million working welfare people who pay no income taxes. More than 53% of Americans now receive some form of government check. This is a record high. Now, we can’t discuss tax reform due to the fact that most people pay little or nothing and, thus, don’t care. We can’t discuss spending cuts because spending has a built in constituency.

I wish that some brave media soul would demand answers from all Democrat and Republican presidential contenders and all candidates in the 2008 congressional races. We are facing a $45 trillion liability for our national debt, Social Security & Medicare. How will we pay for it? What is YOUR plan for dealing with a liability that is more than three times our current GDP? Why doesn’t ANYONE ask tough questions, especially to Hillary, who has gotten softball queries for her entire career?

Nick,

“For some reason, most Americans lack logic or even the most basic knowledge of economics.”

Just think what would happen if those Americans actually learned about economics, applied logic to that knowledge and used it to run their lives!!  We could both almost eliminate poverty and most of government ‘entitlement’ spending!!  Also, we would go from 3 classes, to 2 classes [upper middle class and the wealthy]!!

So, in essense, it just goes back to the taxpayers...

This is true with or without Wal-Mart. I just prefer it <b>without<> Wal-Mart.

Bob Nick What are you talking about???????????????

Property Taxes pay for schools your local fire police library zoo’s supplement some re-hab hospital maybe some day you may or not need,my childern went to private schools and yes the school taxes I did not like but that is the price we all pay ,how would we have schools who would pay since you claim that most people do not understand and do not make enough money so we just have kids that do not go to school who one day may be the Dr. that discovers the cure for Cancer

Taxes is the way we pay for things highways new streets ,
I am sorry to say I take advantage of some of the tax loopholes we all do think be for you say no the deductions you take for charity to you really give that much that the Irs allows,of course not .

The Feds. step in when big corp. take it to the wall same as if you say you gave 20,000 to your church and only made 30,00 you are going to be audited.

The middle or lower income pays a higher ratio of the taxes taxes the wealthy and big Corp have many more loop holes then we do

beenthere,

“my childern went to private schools”

And, why did you send them there while paying for public schools as well?  Aren’t public schools good enough?  If not, why are they making us pay for them?

“I did not like but that is the price we all pay”

But, that is our argument, WHY do we have to pay that price, for other people’s kids?

“how would we have schools who would pay”

Who makes your car payment or mortgage payment?  When you choose to buy a car or a house, you are expected to pay for it, right?  You don’t expect for others to make the payments for you, do you? Why then, do people who choose to have kids expect others to pay for their kids education?  Why shouldn’t you pay for your kids and I’ll pay for mine?  Think about it, if someone else pays for things, do you care about how it works as much as you do for things you had to pay for yourself?  When you are paying the bills, you watch out more about what you are getting for that money!!

“I am sorry to say I take advantage of some of the tax loopholes we all do think be for you say no the deductions you take for charity to you really give that much that the Irs allows,of course not .”

Why do you feel sorry for taking legal deductions?  As you said, the IRS allows those deductions, right?  After all, they are not really ‘loopholes’, that is just what the people who don’t pay taxes call them, taxpayers and the IRS, call them ‘deductions’!!

“The middle or lower income pays a higher ratio of the taxes taxes the wealthy and big Corp have many more loop holes then we do”

This is just some B.S. that people want to believe in order to clear their conscience, so they won’t feel bad that they are ‘sticking it to the rich’!!  All tax deductions are available to all taxpayers who are engaged in similar situations!!  If you want ‘retail’ deductions, open a ‘retail’ store and you will be eligible!!  If a lower income person gets a refund that is larger than what they paid in, how can their ratio be larger than a wealthy person or corporation?