91 of the nation’s largest corporations didn’t pay any federal income taxes during 2018 — the first year of the Trump administration’s new tax law — according to a new report. The study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says even though the corporate tax rate was lowered to 21%, legal loopholes allowed many companies surveyed to pay, on average, a little over 11% in taxes. Report co-author Matthew Gardner says the corporate tax avoidance is perfectly legitimate.
“There is no implication that any of this is illegal. By all accounts, these companies are simply using the legal tax breaks that they lobbied Congress to give them.”
The companies that paid zero taxes include Amazon, Netflix, and DowDupont of Midland, Michigan. Detroit-based General Motors also didn’t contribute any taxes on a profit of more than $4 billion. Supporters of the new tax code argued that lowering corporate rates would lead to increased investments and higher wages.
