Corporate Tax Dodging Threatens Public Safety
By Dan Cougill
By Dan Cougill
I'm
usually a fan of the Whopper, but recently I haven't set foot inside a Burger
King. In August, the company announced it would renounce its U.S. corporate
"citizenship" to avoid paying its fair share of taxes.
As
a professional firefighter, I know that tax dodging by huge corporations can
drain resources we need for firefighters, police, the military, and other
important things. The more I thought about it the angrier I got. Now I've lost
my taste for everything on the Burger King menu.
Burger
King is just the latest corporation to exploit a loophole that allows an
American company to transform itself into a foreign company while actually
maintaining all its operations here. This make-believe move -- called a
"corporate inversion" -- lets the company enjoy the privileges of
operating in this country but dodge its responsibility to help pay for them.
Corporate
tax dodging also hurts small business. Growing up in Aurelia, I watched my dad
struggle to keep afloat his fuel delivery service and small gas station until a
big chain finally forced him out of business. Huge corporations already have
enough advantages over the little guy. They don't need offshore tax loopholes,
too.
This
being election season, I'd really like to know where the candidates we see in
all those TV commercials stand on this issue. I have some sense about Bruce
Braley, who has voted on these issues in Congress -- usually on the side of
ordinary people. But I want to hear more from Joni Ernst. She's signed a pledge
from a group in Washington that would make it next to impossible to close tax
loopholes so that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share of
taxes.
Most
politicians pay attention to polls, and on this issue popular opinion is clear.
Seven out of 10 Iowans are opposed to corporate inversions, and they
specifically oppose Burger King's move, according to a recent poll. Clearly,
the company's lack of patriotism isn't playing well in the heartland.
Iowans
rightly understand that our tax system is rigged against them -- and they want
change. Seven out of 10 Iowans say they are more likely to vote for a candidate
who wants to make sure corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of
taxes. And more than eight out of 10 Iowans would support a candidate who wants
to pay for better public services by closing corporate tax loopholes.
When
such high numbers of Iowans agree on anything, politicians should pay close
attention.
Some
big-time CEOs claim that corporations pay too much in taxes. Then how do they
explain 26 well-known corporations like General Electric, Verizon and
Priceline.com paying exactly zero in federal income taxes from 2008 to 2012?
You and I paid more in taxes in one year than all 26 of these companies put
together paid over five.
When
a corporation like Burger King discards its American identity like an old
burger wrapper, I think about the brave men and women who have served our flag,
here and abroad. I think about my son-in-law, who saw military service in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Did they sacrifice so big American corporations could
switch national flags to save a few bucks?
People
like you and me helped build those companies: as consumers, workers and taxpayers.
Not only have I downed my share of Whoppers, but when a grease fire gets out of
hand, it's folks like me who ride to Burger King's rescue. Burger King wants
the firefighters to show up when they're needed, but it doesn't want to foot
its part of the bill for that lifesaving service.
We
need to close tax loopholes and require that corporations contribute their fair
share. We have a say in the matter: We can demand that our elected officials
put an end to these outrageous tax dodges. And if companies like Burger King
insist on abandoning America to pad their bottom lines, we all can do something
about it -- eat somewhere else.
Cougill
is president of the Iowa Professional Fire Fighters.