In this week’s address, president Obama called on congress to close the tax loophole that allow some American companies to adopt the leaching mentality. The leachers sell their products to the American people, collect huge amounts in profit, but avoid paying taxes on their income by claiming overseas tax status.
Walgreens, the company that calls itself “the pharmacy America trusts,” is one of these companies, currently considering moving their operations to foreign shores to avoid paying taxes here in America.
The President;
Even as corporate profits are as high as ever, a small but growing group of big corporations are fleeing the country to get out of paying taxes. They’re keeping most of their business inside the United States, but they’re basically renouncing their citizenship and declaring that they’re based somewhere else, just to avoid paying their fair share.
I want to be clear: this is only a few big corporations so far. The vast majority of American businesses pay their taxes right here in the United States. But when some companies cherrypick their taxes, it damages the country’s finances. It adds to the deficit. It makes it harder to invest in the things that will keep America strong, and it sticks you with the tab for what they stash offshore. Right now, a loophole in our tax laws makes this totally legal – and I think that’s totally wrong. You don’t get to pick which rules you play by, or which tax rate you pay, and neither should these companies.
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