Does it matter if GE pays income taxes?

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A few weeks ago, a furor erupted in the liberal media over GE's non-payment of income taxes. There were various reasons for this, but the main issue pounded on by the media was the non-payment of taxes.

Now, does it really matter if GE or any other corporation pays income taxes? Back in the '80s, Ronald Reagan said it best - corporations don't pay taxes, people do. And there's the rub. As we scramble about looking for tax money to cut the deficit (and, of course, increase spending...err, I mean investing!), the easiest targets are the large corporations. But the problem is that corporations don't pay taxes - people do. Oh sure, corporations fill out tax forms and fork over a good chunk of change to the government (on all levels) but do they really pay taxes? Of course not - those costs are later borne by the employees (in the form of lower wages and benefits), the customers (via higher prices or stable prices with less output - think a smaller bag of potato chips for the same price as last week's larger bag) and the government through shell games that hide money to avoid taxation. All this wasted energy could be eliminated if we stopped taxing corporations! Let them release the soldiers of accountants that they must hire or retain and put those salaries to better corporate use. We can still tax corporations on their real estate holdings, energy use, etc. Just stop the income taxation. It's meaningless.

What are your thoughts on income taxes and corporations? Is it high time to stop this shell game and eliminate the income tax for corporations? Let us know by leaving a comment or two below!

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