Analysis shows that during a year of high corporate profits, many of the biggest corporations in America either paid minimal or no federal income taxes.
Corporate profits are surging to record levels, yet many of the nation’s biggest corporations are barely paying any taxes. Indeed, new CAP analysis of recent Fortune 100 investor filings finds that 19 of the largest profitable corporations in America are paying effective tax rates that are in the single digits—or paying nothing at all.
Despite record profits in 2021, many corporations are paying barely any taxes
19 profitable Fortune 100 corporations reported they will owe little or no taxes for 2021.
| Corporation | Current U.S. federal income tax expense | Pre-tax U.S. earnings minus state and local taxes owed | U.S. federal Effective Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Inc | $2.1 B | $35.1 B | 6.1% |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. | $262 M | $9.3 B | 2.8% |
| AT&T Inc. | -$1.2 B | $29.6 B | -4.1% |
| Microsoft Corp. | $3.3 B | $33.7 B | 9.7% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $2.9 B | $48.2 B | 5.9% |
| Verizon Communications | $1.9 B | $27.2 B | 6.9% |
| Ford Motor Co. | $102 M | $10 B | 1.0% |
| General Motors Co. | $20 M | $9.4 B | 0.2% |
| Chevron Corp. | $174 M | $9.5 B | 1.8% |
| Bank of America Corp. | $1.1 B | $30.6 B | 3.5% |
| United Parcel Service | $1.4 B | $14 B | 9.9% |
| FedEx Corp. | $199 M | $4.7 B | 4.2% |
| MetLife Inc. | $62 M | $4.8 B | 1.3% |
| Charter Communications Inc. | -$12 M | $6 B | -0.2% |
| Merck & Co. Inc. | $74 M | $1.9 B | 4.0% |
| American International Group Inc. | -$216 M | $9.8 B | -2.2% |
| Dow Inc. | -$46 M | $1.5 B | -3.1% |
| Nike Inc. | $328 M | $5.6 B | 5.9% |
| Coca-Cola Co. | $243 M | $3.4 B | 7.1% |
The table above highlights the incredibly low rates that these 19 corporations are paying. However, this issue extends beyond the Fortune 100: Other large, notable companies pay similarly low rates. The fact that massive and highly profitable corporations are not paying their fair share is a further illustration of how the corporate tax reforms proposed by President Joe Biden are urgently needed.
Read the rest of this article at American Progress.