The British offered Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold £20,000 for betraying West Point to the Crown.
Benedict Arnold
But Arnold was a piker compared to companies that are raking in literally billions of untaxed dollars by betraying the United States in its time of economic trial.
To avoid paying their legitimate share of taxes, they move their headquarters overseas to countries with reduced tax rates. In tax parlance, this is called an “inversion.”
For almost 20 years, tax-avoiding corporations fled to Caribbean countries such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But in 2004, Congress ruled that American companies could relocate overseas if foreign shareholders owned 20% of their stock.
According to statistics compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in 2014:
“Forty-seven U.S. corporations have reincorporated overseas through corporate inversions in the last 10 years, far more than during the previous 20 years combined.
“In total, 75 U.S. corporations have inverted since 1994 – with one other inversion occurring in 1983. What’s more, there are a dozen prospective inversion deals involving U.S. corporations looking to reincorporate overseas, according to CRS
“The new data underscores the significant increase in the number of U.S. corporations that have or are seeking to lower their U.S. taxes by reincorporating overseas.
“It also adds urgency to a legislative solution. Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin in May introduced legislation that would tighten rules to limit inversions.
“The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the legislation would save $19.5 billion over 10 years. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Carl Levin.
“‘Barely a week seems to pass without news that another corporation plans to move its address overseas simply to avoid paying its fair share of U.S. taxes,’” said Ranking Member Levin.
“These corporate inversions are costing the U.S. billions of dollars and undermining vital domestic interests.
“‘We can and should address this problem immediately through legislation to tighten rules to limit the ability of corporations to simply change their address and ship U.S. tax dollars overseas.’”
Among those companies that have chosen to betray their country in its time of economic need:
INVERSION YEAR | COMPANY NAME | TYPE | COUNTRY OF INCORPORATION | REVENUE |
---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | McDermott International | Engineering | Panama | $2.7 billion |
1994 | Helen of Troy | Consumer Products | Bermuda | $1.3 billion (FY 2014) |
1996 | Triton Energy | Oil and Gas | Cayman Islands | Acq by Hess in ’01 |
1996 | Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) | Engineering | Netherlands | $11.1 billion |
1997 | Tyco International | Diversified Manufacturer | Bermuda | $10.6 billion |
1997 | Santa Fe International | Oil and Gas | Cayman Islands | Acq by Transocean in ’07 |
1998 | Fruit of the Loom | Apparel Manufacturer | Cayman Islands | private company |
1998 | Gold Reserve | Mining | Bermuda | N/A |
1998 | Playstar Corp. | Toys | Antigua | Acq by Premier Mobile in ’06 |
1999 | Transocean | Offshore Drilling | Cayman Islands | $9.4 billion |
1999 | White Mountain Insurance | Insurance | Bermuda | $2.3 billion |
1999 | Xoma Corp. | Biotech | Bermuda | $35.5 million |
1999 | PXRE Group | Insurance | Bermuda | Acq by Argonaut Group in ’07 |
1999 | Trenwick Group | Insurance | Bermuda | Acq by LaSalle Re Holdings in ’00 |
2000 | Applied Power | Engineering | Bermuda | Now called Actuant $494 million |
2000 | Everest Reinsurance | Insurance | Bermuda | $5.6 billion |
2000 | Seagate Technology | Data Storage | Cayman Islands | $14.4 billion |
2000 | R&B Falcon | Drilling | Cayman Islands | Acq by Transocean in ’00 |
2001 | Global Santa Fe Corp. | Offshore Drilling | Cayman Islands | Acq by Transocean in ’07 |
2001 | Foster Wheeler | Engineering | Bermuda | $559 million |
2001 | Accenture | Consulting | Bermuda | $28.6 billion (FY 2013) |
2001 | Global Marine | Engineering | Cayman Islands | Acq by Bridgehouse Capital in ’04 |
2002 | Noble Corp. | Offshore Drilling | Cayman Islands | $4.2 billion |
2002 | Cooper Industries | Electrical Products | Bermuda | Acq by Eaton in ’12 |
2002 | Nabor Industries | Oil and Gas | Bermuda | $1.6 billion |
2002 | Weatherford International | Oil and Gas | Bermuda | $15.2 billion |
2002 | Ingersoll-Rand | Industrial Manufacturer | Bermuda | $12.3 billion |
2002 | PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting | Consulting | Bermuda | N/A |
2002 | Herbalife International | Nutrition | Cayman Islands | $4.8 billion (sales) |
2005 | Luna Gold Corp | Mining | Canada | $85.3 million |
2007 | Lincoln Gold Group | Mining | N/A | |
2007 | Western Goldfields | Mining | N/A | Acq by New Gold in ’09 |
2007 | Star Maritime Acquisition Grp | Shipping | N/A | Now Star Bulk $69 million |
2007 | Argonaut Group | Insurance | Bermuda | $1.4 billion |
2007 | Fluid Media Networks | Music Distribution | ||
2008 | Tyco Electronics | Industrial Manufacturer | Switzerland | Now TE Connectivity $3.4 billion (FY ’13) |
2008 | Foster Wheeler | Engineering | Bermuda | $3.3 billion |
2008 | Covidien | Healthcare | Ireland | $10.2 billion |
2008 | Patch International Inc | Oil and Gas | Canada | |
2008 | Arcade Acquisition Group | Financial | ||
2008 | Energy Infrastructure Acquisition Group | Energy | ||
2008 | Ascend Acquisition Group | Electronics | N/A | Acq by Kitara Media in ’13 |
2008 | ENSCO International | Oil and Gas | United Kingdom | $4.9 billion |
2009 | Tim Hortons Inc | Restaurant Chain | Canada | $3.2 billion |
2009 | Hungarian Telephone & Cable Corp. | Telecommunications | Denmark | $219 million |
2009 | Alpha Security Group | Security | N/A | |
2009 | Alyst Acquisition Group | Financial | N/A | Acq by China Networks Media in ’09 |
2009 | 2020 ChinaCap Acquirco | Financial | N/A | Acq by Exceed Co. in ’09 |
2009 | Ideation Acquisition Grp | Private Equity | N/A | Acq by SearchMedia in ’09 |
2009 | InterAmerican Acquisition Grp | Business Management | N/A | Acq by Sing Kung Ltd in ’09 |
2009 | Vantage Energy Services | Offshore Drilling | Cayman Islands | $732 million |
2009 | Plastinum Polymer Tech Corp. | Industrial Manufacturer | ||
2010 | Valient Biovail | Pharmaceuticals | Canada | $5.7 billion |
2010 | Pride International | Offshore Drilling | United Kindom | Acq by Ensco in ’11 |
2010 | Global Indemnity | Insurance | Ireland | $319 billion |
2011 | Alkermes, Inc. | Biopharmaceutical | Ireland | $575 million |
2011 | TE Connectivity | Industrial Manufacturer | Switzerland | $13.3 billion |
2011 | Pentair | Water Filtration | Switzerland | $7.5 billion |
2012 | Rowan Companies | Oil Well Drilling | United Kindom | $1.5 billion |
2012 | AON | Insurance | United Kindom | $11.8 billion |
2012 | Tronox Inc | Chemical | Australia | $1.9 billion |
2012 | Jazz Pharmaceuticals / Azur Pharma | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $872 million |
2012 | D.E. Master Blenders | Coffee | Netherlands | $3.5 billion |
2012 | Stratasys | Printer Manufacturer | Israel | $486.7 million |
2012 | Eaton/Cooper | Power Management | Ireland | $22 billion |
2012 | Endo Health Solutions | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $2.6 billion |
2013 | Liberty Global PLC | Cable Company | United Kindom | $17.3 billion |
2013 | Actavis / Warner Chilcott | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $8.7 billion |
2013 | Perrigo/Elan | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $3.5 billion (FY 2013) |
2013 | Cadence Pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $110 million |
2014 | Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $2.2 billion |
2014 | Chiquita Brands | Produce | Ireland | $3 billion |
2014 | Medtronic | Pharmaceuticals | Ireland | $16.5 billion |
SOURCE: Source: Ways and Means Committee Democrats. GRAPHIC: Danielle Douglas – The Washington Post. Published Aug. 6, 2014.
The most popular countries for these “inversions” are:
- The Cayman Islands
- Bermuda
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
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PUBLIC ENEMY #1: THE RICH (PART FOUR (END)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on March 20, 2019 at 12:06 amNiccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern politics, warns in his masterwork, The Discourses:
All those who have written upon civil institutions demonstrate…that whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.
If their evil disposition remains concealed for a time, it must be attributed to some unknown reason; and we must assume that it lacked occasion to show itself. But time, which has been said to be the father of all truth, does not fail to bring it to light.
Where the crimes of corporate employers are concerned, Americans need not wait for their evil disposition to reveal itself. It has been fully revealed for decades.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Increased media attention to “income inequality” has led some Democratic lawmakers to press for a long-overdue reform: Raising the stock threshold to 50%, making it harder for firms to abandon their country.
Yet a more comprehensive reform package would include legislation that mandates:
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to eliminating special interest money in American politics by securing publicly-funded elections at local, state and federal levels.
According to Public Campaign: “Twenty-five profitable Fortune 500 companies, some with a history of tax dodging, spent more on lobbying than they paid in federal taxes between 2008 and 2012….
“Over the past five years, these 25 corporations generated nearly $170 billion in combined profits and received $8.7 billion in tax rebates while paying their lobbyists over half a billion ($543 million), an average of nearly $300,000 a day.
“Based on newly released data by Citizens for Tax Justice, these 25 companies actually received tax refunds over all those five years.
“So most individual American families and small businesses have bigger tax bills than these corporate giants. Unfortunately, most American families and businesses do not have the lobbying operation and access these 25 companies enjoy.”
Several companies on this list are well-known—and spend millions of dollars on self-glorifying ads every year to convince consumers how wonderful they are. Among these:
Republicans—and some Democrats—have tirelessly defended the greed of the richest and most privileged in America. For example, they have dubbed the estate tax—which affects only a tiny, rich minority—“the death tax.”
This makes it appear to affect everyone. So millions of poor and middle-class Americans who will never have to pay a cent in estate taxes vigorously oppose it.
It’s time to recognize that a country can be sold out for other than political reasons. It can be sold out for economic ones, too.
Trea$on
The United States desperately needs a new definition of treason—one that takes into account the following:
For thousands of years, otherwise highly intelligent men and women believed that kings ruled by divine right. That kings held absolute power, levied extortionate taxes and sent countless millions of men off to war—all because God wanted it that way.
That lunacy was dealt a deadly blow in 1776 when American Revolutionaries threw off the despotic rule of King George III of England.
But today, millions of Americans remain imprisoned by an equally outrageous and dangerous theory: The Theory of the Divine Right of Employers.
America can no longer afford such a dangerous fallacy as the Theory of the Divine Right of Employers.
The solution lies in remembering that the powerful never voluntarily surrender their privileges. Americans did not win their freedom from Great Britain—and its enslaving doctrine of the “divine right of kings”—by begging for their rights.
Americans will not win their freedom from their corporate masters—and the equally enslaving doctrine of “the divine right of employers”—by begging for the right to work and support themselves and their families.
And they will most certainly never win such freedom by supporting Right-wing political candidates whose first and only allegiance is to the corporate interests who bankroll their campaigns.
Corporations can—and do—spend millions of dollars on TV ads, selling lies—such as if the wealthy are forced to pay their fair share of taxes, jobs will inevitably disappear.
But Americans can choose to reject those lies—and demand that employers behave like patriots instead of predators.
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