New Report: Tax Fairness -- Not a Tax Holiday -- Is the Best Way to Fund Our Infrastructure and Create Middle-Class Jobs

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2015—President Obama has just sent Congress a bill that would replenish the Highway Trust Fund through a 14 percent tax on offshore corporate profits. There is bipartisan support for even deeper tax cuts for companies that have stockpiled profits in tax havens, where they remain untaxed until "repatriated" to the United States. A new report, to be released April 1 by the Center for Effective Government and the Institute for Policy Studies, reveals why such tax breaks would be dangerously short-sighted.

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Paying CEOs More than Uncle Sam

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2014—Of America’s 30 largest corporations, seven paid their CEOs more last year than they paid in federal income taxes, according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government. The report, Fleecing Uncle Sam, also looks at the 100 highest-paid CEOs in 2013, finding that 29 received more in pay than their company paid in federal income taxes – up from 25 out of the top 100 in our 2010 and 2011 surveys. These 29 companies operate 237 subsidiaries in tax havens.

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What We Could Invest In if We Ended Special Corporate Tax Breaks

Services for American families have been under constant attack over the past several years. Head Start slots were cut, Meals on Wheels deliveries were curtailed, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been squeezed. House leaders have repeatedly insisted the country cannot afford such programs while continuing to push forward hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations. What could we as a nation invest in if we ended these special tax favors?

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Rating RATE Participants: Government's Largest Contractors in Corporate Tax Cut Coalition

Reforming America's Taxes Equitably, or RATE Coalition, is a corporate lobby group made up of 29 major corporations and two trade associations. Formed last year, the RATE Coalition has been increasingly active in pressing Congress to cut corporate income tax rates from current levels. But a number of the companies involved in the coalition benefit from the very revenue stream they're seeking to shrink.

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New Report: Shrinking Corporate Tax Base is Wreaking Havoc on State Budgets

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2014—A new report published today by Center for Effective Government and National People’s Action uncovers how the shrinking corporate tax base is driving critical budget shortfalls and service cuts at the state and federal level. The report outlines exactly how much revenue has been lost due to a precipitous decline in corporate income tax rates and an explosion of loopholes. The report shows that since the recession, corporate income tax revenues have shrunk considerably, despite soaring profits, leaving individuals to pick up the slack.

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A Tale of Two Corporate Tax Plans

Last month, House Ways and Means Chairman David Camp (R-MI) released his long awaited tax reform package. In it, he proposed overhauling the corporate tax code, eliminating many deductions and loopholes.

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State of the Union: What the President Should Say about Inequality and Fiscal Policy

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a "bully pulpit" as "a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue." President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to call the White House a bully pulpit, and he and other heads of the executive branch have used it as a platform to raise the profile of various issues and push forward an agenda for change. The most regular, high-profile instance of highlighting priority issues is the annual "State of the Union" address (President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first called it that in 1934), where the president addresses a joint session of Congress huddled together in the House chamber.

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Expiring Help for the Unemployed or Expiring Tax Breaks: What Will Congress Extend?

December was a tough month for those down on their luck. More than a million long-term unemployed workers, having already been out of work for at least six months, saw their unemployment insurance abruptly cut off. Just weeks before this happened, federal food assistance for children, seniors, and people with disabilities was reduced. Job growth was anemic, and the unemployment rate fell because many people simply stopped looking for work (and so moved from "unemployed" to "out of the labor market").

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Austerity Politics: Automatic Spending Cuts, a Government Shutdown, Job Loss, and Record Corporate Profits

2013 opened with the economy poised on the edge of "the fiscal cliff," and on that cliff was a sign reading, "Manufactured in Washington D.C." How did we start the year on a ledge, land in a shutdown in October, and scramble to a mini-deal in December? Since it all goes back to the Budget Control Act passed in August of 2011, a short recap may be in order.

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Taxes on Corporate Profits Not Tied to Job Creation, New Study Finds

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2013—Washington D.C. is abuzz with the possibility of corporate tax reform. Years of intense lobbying from corporate executives have convinced many in Congress and the White House that a 35 percent tax on corporate profits represents a competitive threat to American businesses and to the economy. Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), respective chairs of the two powerful congressional tax writing committees, have joined President Obama in calling for closing corporate tax loopholes and using the proceeds to reduce the tax rate on corporate profits. But a study just released by the Center for Effective Government shows that the taxes corporations pay on profits are historically quite low. Moreover, there is no evidence that lowering taxes on corporate profits will lead to more job creation in the U.S.

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