Why Small Business Should Care More About Taxes

 

“…a casual survey of the laws relating to the taxing of corporations convinces me that any corporation that gets away with its trousers and one collar-stud should offer up Hosannahs.”                              —P.G. Wodehouse in 1919

 

The more things change…

If you are running a profitable small business, it won’t surprise you to learn that the business tax rate—39%—is higher in the United States than anywhere else in the developed world.

That’s higher than taxes in France, Sweden, and Japan—countries known for high taxes.

What’s worse is that the only companies paying that rate are small businesses. Because large corporations have the resources to lobby for tax breaks that lower their payments, the ability to move revenue to more tax friendly international subsidiaries, and armies of accountants to lower their tax burden.

Many large American corporations pay no corporate income tax in the United States.

It’s so bad that even General Electric’s CEO, Jeff Immelt, has said that our tax policy is hurting the economy. Never mind that GE is among the companies that paid no corporate income tax for the years 2008, 2009, or 2010, despite reporting a profit of more than $10 billion over those years. Worse, during that time, GE received payments from the government worth another $10 Billion.

Did your small business get that?

Other American companies that paid no corporate income tax those years include Boeing (profit $14 billion), Wells Fargo (profit: $69 billion), Duke Energy (profit $7 billion), and PG&E (profit: $6 Billion). Instead these 4 companies received almost $34 billion from the government.

While millions of small businesses paid between 25% and 39% of their profits in taxes.

If just the top 50 corporations that paid no federal income taxes over the past four years paid their fair share, they would have paid enough to the treasury to cover the entire cost of the sequester.

Immelt is right. The American business tax structure is madness.

And we haven’t even mentioned payroll, medicare, and other “hidden” taxes that increase the cost of hiring new employees and help keep unemployment higher than it would be otherwise.

Here’s what needs to happen: Cut the U.S. Corporate Tax rate to 15%. Eliminate all corporate tax breaks that are specific to a single industry. The only tax breaks allowed should be universally applicable to all businesses. And no business should be able to take tax breaks totaling more than 33% of tax owed on EBITDA.

Also allow corporations to repatriate foreign profits at a minimal rate of say, 5%. Any of this amount that is paid out as dividends would be exempt from the repatriation tax.

The effect would be a rather large increase in corporate tax payments. Plus a substantial increase in personal taxes paid on dividends. And the incentive to move businesses off shore (to places like Bermuda where the corporate tax rate is $0) would be substantially reduced.

Large corporations would pay something closer to their fair share. Small businesses’ tax burden would be reduced, allowing them to hire additional employees and invest in new ideas and technology.

Small business isn’t looking for a hand out (unlike many big businesses). We just want a fair shake.

What do you think?

Should small businesses pay higher taxes than successful mulinational corporations?

Photo credit: 401(K) 2013 via photopin cc