1. socialismartnature:

    “Representation without Taxation: Fortune 500 Companies that Spend Big on Lobbying and Avoid Taxes … looks at what it calls the “Dirty Thirty” particularly aggressive tax avoiders that spent more on federal lobbying than income taxes between 2008 and 2010.”

    “The ‘Dirty Thirty’ companies all told made $163.7 billion in profits while paying zero dollars in federal income taxes and collecting a total of $10.6 billion in various tax rebates. Meanwhile, they collectively spent $475.7 million in lobbying expenses for the three year period.”

    Effective tax rate in parenthesis, if negative, means they received money. All thirty spent more on lobbying than on taxes from 2008 to 2010:

    FedEx (0.9%)

    Corning (-0.2%)

    DTE Energy (-0.7%)

    Honeywell International (-0.7%)

    Mattel (-0.9%)

    El Paso (-1.0%)

    Wells Fargo (-1.4%)

    Boeing (-1.8%)

    Navistar International (-2.0%)

    NextEra Energy (-2.2%)

    CMS Energy (-2.2%)

    Interpublic Group (-2.6%)

    Verizon Communications (-2.9%)

    Consolidated Edison (-3.0%)

    DuPont (-3.4%)

    Duke Energy (-3.9%)

    Wisconsin Energy (-4.9%)

    Baxter International (-7.1%)

    Ryder System (-7.3%)

    Con-way (-9.1%)

    American Electric Power (-9.2%)

    Integrys Energy Group (-11.3%)

    Tenet Healthcare (-11.6%)

    CenterPoint Energy (-14.7%)

    NiSource (-16.4%)

    Computer Sciences (-18.3%)

    PG&E Corp. (-21.2%)

    Paccar (-30.5)

    General Electric (-45.3%)

    Pepco Holdings (-57.6%)

    (Source: miraclesawake, via randomactsofchaos)