Washington – President Barack Obama says a loophole that lets companies dodge U.S. taxes by moving their headquarters overseas is unpatriotic.
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Obama is denouncing “tax inversions” in his weekly radio and Internet address. He says companies are essentially renouncing their citizenship to avoid paying their fair share.
Obama says the best way to address the problem is through tax reform that lowers the corporate tax rate. But he says the problem can’t wait. He’s urging lawmakers to join the effort to close the loophole.
Obama says Americans don’t get to pick which rules they follow and neither should companies.
In the Republican address, congressman Steve Daines of Montana says Obama is waging a war on the middle class. He’s calling for the Senate to pass House-approved jobs bills.
Corporations only job is to give the shareholders return on their investment.
Period.
A corporation is not patriotic. Or patriotic.
It is business.
It is capitalism.
We have the first president in the White House who is likely not an American citizen. I say this after having read Jerome Corsi’s, “Where’s the Birth Certificate”. And, he is lecturing us on what is patriotism! The tax system is set up for tax avoidance. It is perfectly legal! While what he has done is illegal.
The democrats voted on the current tax bill that created the loopholes – maybe he should blame them also?
I like the like about the people picking and choosing the laws that they want. Like obama ignoring the current immigration laws that are on the books.
Alrighty, then. WE, through our government, set the IRS rules. Neither Obama nor anyone else said that what the corporations are doing is illegal, he’s simply making the obvious argument that we should revise these rules so that WE, in our society , benefit from the fruits of our collective labor and investment.
Pretty straightforward (unless you’re a birther, in which case we know that the rules of logic do not apply to you).
I am no fan of Obama – far, far from it, but I think that his push to reform the tax laws is the first good idea I’ve heard out of him. He isn’t saying that corporations shouldn’t take advantage of existing laws, re wants to change the law.
Our country is in so much economic trouble. A company that’s making its profits in America should pay taxes in America.
One of the most famous judges in America wrote,
“Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. “
But, of course, the Anointed One is smarter than Judge Hand.
Our businesses are laden with the nearly the highest median effective corporate tax rate in the world. You want to reduce incentive for tax avoidance – reduce the world leading tax rate to the size that most of the world would find tolerable. It’s that simple.
Buyer beware. Obama is jealous of human nature.
The potatos is heaven are not kept by investment portfolios.
Barry, please don’t lecture anyone about being unpatriotic. You lectured W about it in relation to the debt, yet you out spent ALL previous presidents.
In simple words Barry O, JUST SHUT UP!!!
Oh, so Obama is finished golfing and he’s talking about the country again? Good. Maybe now he can doing something about Putin helping the Ukranian rebels shoot down passenger planes, the influx of illegal immigrants, the outbreak of Ebola in Africa and of course the continuing issues in Gaza.
BTW, doing whatever one can in lowering taxes for shareholders; is not only perfectly legal as Judge Learned Hand wrote, and not only is it a fiduciary duty as an officer of a Corporation; let’s not forget that it’s also a double taxation. When the shareholders sell the stock at a profit or when they receive dividends on the stock, they are also taxed again on the success of the Company.
It’s a silly comment for a President to make. Following the laws of the country is a pretty good example of patriotism. It’s no different than corporations seeking cheaper labor outside of the country. It’s no different than giving away billions in foreign aid (ie, tax dollars) when people at home are struggling.
It is all in the plan to bring down the United States into a 3rd world status, no big business, no one building, no one making things anymore in this country, more unemployment, poor medical system, small military(hard to defend country), bankrupting the system. Now we will have to be reliant on other countries for all our supplies. We were to big to fail, now we will be too small to survive. His great plan for this country, and 75% of Jews voted for this man for they thought that was a great plan also, and today 55% give him approval. What could go wrong????