Happy Tax Day

I’m happy I got my taxes mailed on Saturday. I’m not so happy my refund has gone down substantially. I hope you were able to get your taxes done on time or file for an extension.

I used TurboTax again, which turned out O.K., unlike H&R Block, which wouldn’t give me an estimate on how much it would do my taxes until they were done.

For free items to get on Tax Day, see Dealnews.com’s The Best Tax Day Freebies to Get Today.

For information on the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations included in the Trump-GOP 2017 tax law that should be amended or repealed see Americans for Tax Fairness’ report “Fair Taxes Now: Revenue Options for a Fair Tax System.” It recommends:

• Raising taxes on the super-rich, both on high incomes and accumulated wealth.
• Reforming the taxation of investment income so that wealth is taxed more like work.
• Reinvigorating the corporate tax code by raising rates, closing loopholes, and repealing incentives to offshore profits, and outsource jobs.
• Ending tax breaks for wealthy businesses, such as special real-estate provisions that have benefited President Trump.
• Tapping new revenue sources, such as taxes on Wall Street speculation and carbon pollution.

“The wealthy and big corporations not paying their fair share hurts working families,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness.

The report and the online calculator show that there are many credible ways to raise substantial revenue to protect critical services and make new investments, Clemente said.

These corporations paid no taxes in 2018, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy:

Amazon.com, Delta Air Lines, Chevron, General Motors, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum, Honeywell Industries, Deere, American Electric Power, Principal Financial, FirstEnergy, Prudential Financial, Xcel Energy, Devon Energy, DTE Energy, Halliburton, Netflix, Whirlpool, Eli Lilly, IBM, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Penske Automotive Group Aramark, AECOM Technology, Performance Food Group, and Arrow Electronics.

Contact your members of Congress and ask them to close tax loopholes for the wealthy and big corporations.

So, until next year, when we go through tax time again.

Comments

[azure]

All those corporations spend it on lobbying instead. See how well that's worked for them?

I agree with you, I think we'd be better off w/ income tax rates similar to those of Eisenhower's time. I mention his administration as he was a member of the GOP, just like Terrump & McConnell are.

[Rita]

Hi azure,

Unfortunately, under Trump, lobbying is working very well for corporations. They're paying less taxes, so now the Republicans are going to cut government services after Trump said he wouldn't.

These are troubling times, but it's good that there are organizations such as Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy to inform us about corporate wrongdoing.

Rita