Some of the confusion about corporate profits stems from incomplete media coverage. It keeps people from knowing where things really come from. Most of us know that Exxon Mobil announced a record $45 billon in profits for 2008. What many don’t know is this was computed after paying $36 billion in income taxes.

There is more good news. They also paid about $35 billion in sales based taxes and about $45 billion in other taxes. The total contribution in taxes was about $116 billion. This is an incredible contribution to the public works and one that should be celebrated by all.

This isn’t hard information to find. It all comes from numbers in the same press release with the profit figures. You just have to look at it. www.santaclaussyndrome.com

Everything the man says is a fallacy. Check out The Obama Deception. You can find it on YouTube. The global warming scam, the fairness doctrine, the bailouts..everything is put into perspective. Get the word out!

Alabamastan: "I think there are times where sometimes our economy gets out of balance. This is obviously one of those times," he said. "And so government has to intervene in the crisis, but the goal should always be to right the ship and let private enterprise do its magic."

Well lets see, then he was talking about a crisis, today he is saying that maybe things are not as bad as first thought.

Now which do we believe? I have been saying for a long time to watch politics, not politians. Between him and congress they not showing me much and they change their story about every other day or so. So where is the change I can beleieve in? The only change that I have seen is a lot of money being given to special interestgroups, banks and projects that don't mean sqwat to me. All I see is that my 401k is now a 101b and getting smaller, and my retirement is looking like I am going to have to keep working rather recieving something I have worked hard for.

I hope things change, but I doubt it. He was going to veto earmarks. Now he will do it next time.

Still wondering where the joke came from:
"We are from the goverment and we are here to help!"

Obama's words yesterday:

"I think there are times where sometimes our economy gets out of balance. This is obviously one of those times," he said. "And so government has to intervene in the crisis, but the goal should always be to right the ship and let private enterprise do its magic.

"Our expectation is that we can use this moment to create a stronger free market system, one that's more stable, one that's more profitable over the long term.”

I know this won't matter one little bit to all of you whose minds are made up, but I just wanted you to read the words.

And what the hell is the big deal about using a TelePrompter? Why is it any different from reading a prepared text off paper. Bush did that, though not very well.

After all, once you decide that it's IMPOSSIBLE for corporations to be paying taxes, all the data on corporate-tax revenues will just be waved aside as "passed along directly to the consumer," won't it?

http://www.cbpp.org/10-16-03tax.htm
http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/bustaxstats/article/0,,id=97145,00.html

Even though you have ZERO data to support THAT claim....

I have a two word reply: Fair Tax

This is such a sham. Ok, reduce the tax rates and close the loopholes. What's to say that over time the libs won't raise the tax rates again but still keep the loopholes closed?
Avoid this like the plaque.

please people, dont respond to copyleft's comments. he's an operative from liberal blogs who come to boards such as these to stir up resentment, just for them to use as proof of something later. by reponding to his comments, he looks better to his bosses, and may catch a little extra in his pay bucket at the end of the week. in case you dont know, he's aiming to be mentioned by neal on the air one day, upon which he becomes the proud recipient of a vacation to hawaii to pray at obama's birth house. dont respond to copyleft and his liberal kin...that's exactly what people like him are paid to do: we go to work and actually produce goods and services, and he types messages, the world goes round and round.

Corporations do not print money. Therefore, they must acquire it somewhere in order to pay their tax burdens. There are only three places corporations can collect that money:

PRICES of goods and services, which the consumers pay. Because there are more middle income and low income consumers than wealthy ones, that piece of corporate tax burden is most heavily levied against the middle and lower income consumers.

WAGES/SALARIES of corporate employees. Corporations can reduce what they pay in both wages and benefits to their employees to help pay their corporate taxes. Again, because there are more middle and lower income wage & salary earners, they bear the brunt of that portion of corporate taxes. Jobs can also be eliminated, saving the corporation 100 percent of the former employee's salary and benefits.

SHAREHOLDERS: Corporations can also use money that would otherwise go to shareholders (investors). Anyone who has a pension plan, a 401K, or an IRA is most likely to be a shareholder. So, corporate taxes raid our retirement funds. And since it is the rich who can more easily invest additional funds elsewhere, who do you suppose bears the heaviest burden on taxes taken from shareholders? Middle and lower income wage earners. This particular source of tax income also lowers the desirability of a corporation's stock, which in turn lowers the value of that stock, which in turn also reduces the value our our retirement funds. So, it is a double whammy for middle and lower income earners.

Additionally, more severe corporate tax burdens require corporations to spend more of their gross profits on tax compliance, because they must hire accountants and lawyers to ensure they do not inadvertently under pay their taxes. These costs, too, must be covered by a combination of the above three mentioned revenue sources.

Bottom line is that corporations are tax collectors. They do not have the ability to create money from thin air, so they must collect it from a combination of the above mentioned three sources. In all three cases, it is NOT the upper income earners who are most heavily burdened; it is the middle and lower income earners.

So, anyone who advocates for raising corporate taxes is really advocating for disproportionately raising the taxes of the middle and lower income earners.

Simpler question: Where do consumers and workers get the money to pay THEIR taxes?

Answer: From employer corporations.

See? It's a CYCLE. Basic economics. You could just as easily argue that "workers don't pay taxes, they just pass their needs on to corporations in the form of salary requirements."

Neal's running a smokescreen here, and too many people are ignorant of economics to spot the lies.

simple question - where do companies get the money to pay their taxes?

Yes, companies physically pay taxes.
But the money they use to pay those taxes is generated from the consumer.

Some taxes are fixed costs, some are variable, but all are figured into their expenses and all are accounted for when pricing their good/service.

Basic economics ...

Whats wrong with wanting to make sure something is done is the proper manner?

Its not just about cutting taxes, but also closing the crazy loopholes in our system.

Its about putting money into the hands of the more people and allowing them to decide where to spend their hard earned money. That's truly a free market.
That's what you advocate everyday on your show, right? Why not stand behind this initiative?

More money into the hands of more people and let them decide where best to spend it. Let businesses fight for customers!!

So with all the hoop-la about the Corp tax reduction, then the Card Check bill will be passed and Corporations will still not come home because of the threat of union organization by intimidation! This administration will see to it that this country is destroyed from within as has been predicted for years by those "in the know"! And BTW, the Republicrats aren't any better either! In fact, I'd say that they are the worst of the two. At least you KNOW what to expect from a Demonacrat!

It's time for a new Political Party to come into power that will look out for "We The People" instead of "I, Me and Mine"!

I had HOPED that you would stress the point that ONLY PEOPLE PAY TAXES. ALL taxes get passed along to customers, clients, shareholders or employees of a business. Hope you will drive that home during the program.

This is a variation on the same play the dp suckered President GHW Bush with. They got him to go along with raising taxes, breaking his promise, for a promise that they would make equal spending cuts. They never got around to the spending cuts, of course.

Here they will close the 'loopholes,' and never get around to lowering the rate. I Wish I could say the GOP was too smart to fall for that one again.

First, no point in paying attention to what he says. It's what he does that speaks truth.

Second, what is the Fairtax status now? When we overthrow the current idiots in government, I say that's the first official act. ;->

You need to read Drudge, the crisis has been averted.

That's why companies are flocking to America at the moment, right? Because America's government has made us such a tax haven.

Neal,

Apparently we don't have an economic crisis. But I'm confused. Was it not just a month or so ago that Obama said we were facing economic catastrophe? And now it's not as bad as we think? Why anyone would believe anyting this man says is astounding to me. Stupidity comes to mind. Beyond that created in government schools.

Obama's To Do List - daily.

1) Sign bill
2) Introduce a 'plan' to do the opposite of what the bill actually does
3) Read the press about the plan, not the bill.
4) Repeat (taxes, earmarks, transparency, bank bailout.)