Do it now dossier: Taxes are a Pandora's box

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C. Ford Runge is Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Applied Economics and Law at the University of Minnesota. This article reflects his opinions and not those of the university.

Taxes are a Pandora's box

• Article by: C. FORD RUNGE 
• Updated: July 31, 2011 - 7:14 PM

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The game of chicken between the White House and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over deficit reduction and the debt ceiling has resembled Minnesota's earlier budget struggle and shutdown -- although it has global economic implications that the Minnesota imbroglio did not.

In both cases, Republicans have made opposition to new taxes their touchstone. In this they show little originality. Taxes have been unpopular since Rome was imperial.

But government services are not free, and taxes are the means by which they are made possible. The question is: How can taxes be structured in ways that are fair and efficient and create improved incentives?

To suggest that taxes will cease as an instrument of fiscal policy, or that they will not increase in the face of irresponsible deficits run up by the Congress and the administration, is delusional.

Nonetheless, Republicans claim that any new taxes will "kill jobs," because U.S. businesses are already overtaxed. If they had glanced at their own Congressional Research Service's report of March 31, "International Corporate Tax Rate Comparisons and Policy Implications," they would learn that the United States had an effective tax rate in 2008 of 27.1 percent, slightly less than the 27.7 percent weighted average among industrialized nations' as a whole.

Even stalwart Republican economists such as Martin Feldstein and Gregory Mankiw, according to the July 13 New York Times, favor raising taxes by closing loopholes.

Republicans' feigned horror at the prospect of new taxes masks a dirty secret. The trouble is not just about raising taxes but about opening them to discussion at all.

The old taxes are so skewed in favor of the already rich that to open them to scrutiny would reveal a box unnerving even to Pandora, and especially damaging to the vast majority of Republicans who have pledged fealty to Grover Norquist and his no-new-taxes manifesto.

At both the state and federal level, tax exemptions and special arrangements for favored corporations result not just in tax avoidance but in actual transfers from state and federal coffers to companies and individuals.

These "negative taxes" are subsidies paid to some of the biggest companies in the nation. No one likes paying taxes, but who wants an open discussion when the tax system pays you?

Let's get specific. In June, Citizens for Tax Justice, a Washington watchdog group, released a partial list from a major forthcoming study of effective tax rates paid by Fortune 500 companies.

The 12 corporations analyzed were American Electric Power, Boeing, Dupont, Exxon Mobil, FedEx, General Electric, Honeywell, IBM, United Technologies, Verizon, Wells Fargo and Yahoo. From 2008 through 2010, these companies together reported $171 billion in pretax profits, but as a group, their federal income taxes were a negative$2.5 billion. In other words, they were collectively subsidized.

Eight of these firms reported negative taxes, including Minnesota's Honeywell International, with three-year profits of $4.9 billion and federal taxes of a negative $34 million. Wells Fargo, with $49 billion in profits, received a net tax benefit of $681 million. GE was the largest net negative taxpayer from 2008-2010, with $7.7 billion in profits and $4.7 billion in negative taxes.

Forbes magazine (hardly the Socialist Worker) noted that the explanation is often that these corporations transfer tax liability across international operations, so that the final accounting shows U.S. divisions operating at a loss.

Christopher Helman, a Forbes financial analyst, noted in an April 2 article that General Electric has two divisions: General Electric Capital and everything else -- engines, power plants, etc.

Over the last two years, GE Capital's risky lending has generated major losses in the United States ($6.5 billion in 2009), while its overseas operations showed healthy profits ($4.3 billion in the same year). U.S. losses, according to Helman, both balance out overseas gains and allow GE to defer taxes on overseas income indefinitely.

Even so, if the domestic side of these companies is losing money, should they receive compensation from the U.S. Treasury?

At the state level, Minnesota companies can also transfer gains out of state, costing Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars in annual revenues.

It is one thing to argue that taxes interfere with the capacity of businesses to grow and invest. This is undoubtedly true. Tax-free treatment would be blissful for businesses (and very bad for society).

But it is quite another thing to realize that growth and investment by already rich companies have been subsidized by taxpayers, many with modest incomes. This is because the tax system has become rigged to shift wealth and income from the bottom to the top, a fact that Grover Norquist and his minions would prefer that you not learn. Now you know.

Grover Norquist's Culture of Corruption

http://www.thenation.com/blog/162206/grover-norquists-culture-corruption

Ari Berman

July 21, 2011  

Grover Norquist is once again playing kingmaker, determining not just the direction of the Republican Party but of the entire US economy. His anti-tax zealotry has made it virtually impossible for Republicans to cut a sensible deal to raise the debt ceiling. But just yesterday, Norquist seemingly flip-flopped and said that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts would not violate his anti-tax pledge, leaving the door open to Republicans supporting a “grand bargain” deal to cut spending, lower corporate taxes and restructure Social Security and Medicare, which sounds like an awfully good offer for the GOP (for Democrats, not so much). The White House is using Norquist to bolster its casewhile every reporter in Washington is amplifying his words. Norquist has since walked his original statement back.

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Ari Berman

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Abramoff Entertainment Grover Norquist Ralph Reed

I’ve got another question: who cares what Norquist says and why does he still have any credibility left? Just a few years ago he was a central player in the Jack Abramoff scandal, using his connections to launder nearly $1 million from Abramoff’s Indian tribe clients to conservative activist Ralph Reed and Christian anti-gambling groups who were fighting a proposed state lottery in Alabama, according to an extensive report by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

“Call Ralph re Grover doing pass through,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail reminder to himself in 1999. In return, Norquist’s organization, Americans for Tax Return (ATR), took a piece of the cut. “What is the status of the Choctaw stuff?” Norquist wrote to Abramoff that same year. “I have a 75g hole in my budget from last year. ouch.”

According to the New York Times:

Indian tribes say Mr. Abramoff dropped Mr. Norquist’s name when he began trying to win their business. Mr. Norquist used his platform to argue against taxing Indian gambling. Mr. Abramoff billed the tribes tens of millions of dollars to try to fend off antigambling groups and regulators and to send members of Congress on lavish overseas trips. The tribes say Mr. Abramoff also instructed them to give money to Mr. Norquist’s groups as way of getting an audience with the Bush administration. The tribes gave $1.5 million to Americans for Tax Reform and $250,000 to the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, the group founded by Mr. Norquist and Ms. [Gail] Norton.

Adds The New Yorker:

At the start of 2000, the casino battle intensified. Reed needed more cash, and the Choctaws agreed to supply some. After discussing several options, Reed and Abramoff again decided to send the money via Norquist, but this time, apparently, he kept some of it for Americans for Tax Reform. “I need to give Grover something for helping, so the first transfer will be a bit lighter,” Abramoff wrote to Reed on February 7, 2000.

Ten days later, Abramoff sent another e-mail to Reed: “ATR will be sending a second $300K today. How much more do we need? We can’t lose this.” Once again, Americans for Tax Reform apparently took a cut of the money, prompting Abramoff to write to himself a few days later: “Grover kept another $25K!”

The committee also released correspondence relating to a meeting that Norquist helped organize in May, 2001, at which some of Abramoff’s Indian clients met with President Bush. On April 5th, Abramoff wrote to Norquist, “Here’s the first of the checks for the tax event at the White House. I’ll have another $25K shortly.” Sixteen months later, on August 12, 2002, Abramoff wrote to an official with the Saginaw Chippewas, another of his client tribes, “Last year Grover set a meeting for certain select tribal leaders (Coushatta and Chitimach were the only ones) and the speakers of the house of several legislatures to meet with the President in a small meeting for photos, etc. The tribes paid for the event (total cost was $100K for the entire thing, and each tribe put in $50K). Grover has asked me to line up a few tribes to do so again.”

Joked Mark Salter, a top aide to John McCain: “By his own admission, Grover couldn’t be any closer to Abramoff if they moved to Massachussetts and got married.” The Weekly Standard pointed to Reed and Norquist as “symbols of how onetime anti-Washington political insurgents traded in their idealism for gobs of corporate cash.”

All three were key figures in the Bush-era “culture of corruption.” Abramoff went to prison in 2006 for conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He got out in December 2010, right after Republicans recaptured the House and Norquist’s anti-tax agenda received a major boost. Abramoff’s reputation is still in tatters. Norquist’s should be too.

—Ari Berman is the author of Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics. Follow him on Twitter at @AriBerman.

What to do about the US sinking ship, ASAP

Washington's proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. That's unacceptable. Obama seeks to trim $1.1 trillion from the budget in the next ten years by cutting or eliminating over 200 federal programs, many dedicated to social services and education. For instance, it cuts in half funding to subsidize heating for low-income Americans; limits an expansion of the Pell grant program for students; and decreases Environmental Protection Agency funding by over 12%. Meanwhile, Republicans are using their new House majority to slash spending even more brutally. The GOP has made it clear that they are bent on raiding funds for Social Security, Medicare, education; determined to kill health care reform; and gut needed investments in infrastructure, climate change and job creation, at a time when America needs it most. These cuts will come on top of very painful austerity measures made at the state-level across our nation–-worth hundreds of billions--since the recession began. In short, budget cuts demonstrate that Washington has abandoned ordinary Americans. But there is an alternative: Make corporate tax avoiders pay. Enjoying record profits and taxpayer-funded bailouts as the economy slowly recovers from a financial crisis, nearly two-thirds of US corporations don't pay any income taxes, instead opting to abuse tax loopholes and offshore tax havens. According to this study from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations that operate in the US exploit corporate tax havens. Since 2009, America’s most profitable companies such as ExxonMobil, General Electric, Bank of America and Citigroup all paid a grand total of $0 in federal income taxes to Uncle Sam. Tax havens alone account for up to $1 trillion in tax revenue lost every decade, money that could be invested in K-12 education, colleges, public health, job creation and hundreds of other worthy public programs. If we pay our taxes, why don’t they? If corporations profit here, shouldn't they pay here? It’s time for ordinary Americans to fight back and demand an end to the corporate tax avoidance. Join US Uncut and together let's make corporate tax avoiders pay. US Uncut is a horizontal movement. There are no centrally planned protests. If you want one in your town or city, you'll have to take it on yourself. Read our blog about what to do next. Also remember to visit UK Uncut for some inspiration. See you on the streets.

Turn your speakers up! FIGHT BACK!

Wealth didn't trickle down, everybody's screwed now
Free ride, only for the biggest of the banks
They've made it well known, they don't want to pay for roads
Let me tell ya something bout' our friends B of A...

Dead beats, tax cheats, hiding money overseas
Take this piece of shit loan, rate it "Triple A" please
Tape off Wall Street, white collar crime scene
Shut down, marked out of business temporarily

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it but we gotta fight it

Always jackin' up the rate, never give a man a break
Make the poor pay for the rich man's mistakes
Hedge fund fat cats, I propose a new tax
70 percent for being such huge douchebags

Next crisis that you face, don't ya come to us and beg
We ain't gonna bail you out, you can go to hell

And next time, by the way, people try to rob your bank
Don't you call on our cops, you can fuck yourself

And we ain't puttin out your fires
Cuz your greedy asses never paid your taxes
If companies didn't cheat, we could pave our streets
We could educate our kids, that's just what the fact is

Politicians want to cut pensions they should leave alone,
Privatize the profits, let the losses hit the old folks
When the stocks crash, what you saved gets bled dry
Funneled up to Wall Street & you ain't got a life line

Make em chop from the top, don't you cut another cop
Go to where the money is, don't you cut our services
Government we used to know, picked clean to the bone
Business big wigs aren't paying what they owe

"OUR EDUCATION IS UNDER ATTACK,
WHAT DO WE DO?
FIGHT BACK."


Lyrics by Chris Priest (except the first chorus)

~ Well Fargo - bad tax payer, bad liars ~

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/finance_etc/2011/04/a-tax-day-rally-targets-wells-fargo.html

A Tax Day rally targets Wells Fargo

Denver Business Journal - by Heather Draper 

Date: Monday, April 18, 2011, 6:09pm MDT

 Heather Draper Reporter

• Email: hdraper@bizjournals.com

I paid my taxes. Have you?”

That was the gist of a protest outside 1700 Broadway on Monday afternoon, where a group of 50 to 75 sign-wielding protesters braved the wind to protest what they call the “Deadbeat Dozen” — the 12 largest U.S. corporations that they claim don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

The Tax Day event was part of a nationwide campaign called “Make Them Pay,” sponsored by MoveOn.org and several other progressive organizations. Their deadbeat dozen list includes General Electric, Boeing, BP, FedEx, Google, Citigroup, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Their downtown Denver target was Wells, which operates at 1700 Broadway and in adjacent Wells Fargo Center.

They say the San Francisco-based bank, Colorado’s largest by deposits, has 77 offshore tax havens and should have paid $5.14 billion in taxes last year — “If they paid their fair share.” They didn’t offer documentation on how much Wells Fargo did pay last year.

“On the day when taxes are due, wealthy individuals and corporations are paying virtually nothing in taxes,” said Phil Hayes, political and legislative director of the Colorado AFL-CIO. “It’s time for those people to pay their fair share.”

Several drivers going by on Broadway honked in support as the protesters chanted and waved signs that said, “Wells Fargo Pay Your Taxes” and “We Pay Taxes. Do you?”

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Cristie Drumm said Wells Fargo paid billions in taxes last year.

“Over the last 10 years, Wells Fargo (including Wachovia) has paid more than $30 billion in income taxes to federal and state governments,” Drumm said. “In addition, we’ve paid billions in real estate, property and payroll taxes.”

Jay Espinoza, a student at Metropolitan State College of Denver, joined the protest Monday because, he said, “banks should be paying their fair share ... to help get our country out of our massive debt.”

Espinoza said he moved his money from Wells Fargo to a credit union more than two years ago after the bank accepted TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds.

Other Make Them Pay Tax Day protests in Colorado were held at the intersection of South University and Dry Creek Road, GE Analytical Instruments in Boulder, Bank of America in Boulder, Wells Fargo in Fort Collins and at Riverside Park in Salida.

Read more: A Tax Day rally targets Wells Fargo | Denver Business Journal

http://www.wellsfargomortgagefraud.com/

Hold Wells Fargo Accountable Save the American Dream

Hold Wells Fargo Accountable.  Please sign the Petition at:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/tell_obama_to_stop_wells_fargos_predatory_mortgage_lending_practices.

In the past, if you rip off the rich, you go to jail.  Bernard Madoff is the perfect example.  If you rip off the poor and the working middle class, you get bail out. Now, we DEMAND if you rip off the poor and the working middle class, you will go to jail too. Rallies Attorneys General to hold banks accountable in Washington D.C. March 7th, 2011.

When Wells Fargo was defrauded like us, Wells Fargo screamed foul, demanded to rescind the loans, when refused, Wells Fargo  sued like we did. In its lawsuit, Wells Fargo referred loans as to which inaccurate or untrue representations or warranties were made as the "Ineligible Loans" (inasmuch as those loans were not eligible to be sold to Wells Fargo in the first place.) Click on the following link to see case: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. vs. Quiken Loans Inc.

Here is how Wells Fargo defrauded us!

Facts:
In the past, if you rip off the rich, you go to jail.  Bernard Madoff is the perfect example.  If you rip off the poor and the working middle class, you get bail out. Now, we DEMAND if you rip off the poor and the working middle class, you will go to jail too. When Wells Fargo was , Wells Fargo screamed foul, demanded to rescind the loans, when refused, Wells Fargo  sued like we did. In its lawsuit, Wells Fargo referred loans as to which inaccurate or untrue representations or warranties were made as the "Ineligible Loans" (inasmuch as those loans were not eligible to be sold to Wells Fargo in the first place  

In August, 2005, Wells Fargo bank made a mortgage loan to us based on fraudulent and hugely inflated appraisal.  

• Wells Fargo’s fraudulent appraisal valued our home for $718,000. Click on the link to view: Fraudulent Appraisal.   
• Wells Fargo’s review appraisal valued our home for $475,000. Click on the link to view: Review Appraisal
• Notice of Sale, Wells Fargo is auctioning our home on June 15, 2010, based on fraudulent appraisal and mortgage loan: Click on the link to view: Notice of Sale.
• We put $151,000 downpayment. Between 2005 and 2009 we paid Wells Fargo around $350,000.
• On June  15, 2010, Wells Fargo still foreclosed our home, knowing that it is a Category C felony to make a mortgage loan and foreclose our home based on a fraudulent appraisal.
• Wells Fargo received a total of $25 billion bailout, but refused to carry out its promise to us and rescind its fraudulent loan.

Promises:

In July, 2006, Wells Fargo Bank promised us that after its investigation, if proven the appraisal was fraudulent, it would help us to rescind the contract and help us to recover all our financial losses.                                                     

Result:

In August, 2006, Wells Fargo Bank completed its investigation.  Its own review appraisal valued our home for $475,000.  My home was inflated by $243,000. 

Wells Fargo Bank initiated massive cover-up scheme and refused to carry out its promises to rescind the contract and help us to recover all our financial losses.  Wells Fargo wrote us letters stating that "WFHM underwriting reviewed the (fraudulent) appraisal and it was found acceptable for our lending purposes."  Basically, Wells Fargo is telling us that it is "legal" to make mortgage loans based on fraudulent and hugely inflated appraisals.  However, based on Nevada State Statute NRS 205.372 Crime against Property, it is a Category C felony.
 

In March, 2007, we filed lawsuit against  Wells Fargo bank for violation of Federal Truth-in-Lending, NRS 205.372 Crime against Property, Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of Warranty, Fraud and Misrepresentation, Bad Faith, Punitive Damages and Negligence and Other Relief.

In June, 2008, after two years into the investigation, the Attorney General’s office ruled that Wells Fargo’s appraisal was fraudulent and suspended the appraiser’s license for committing appraisal fraud on our home.  Complete Attorney General’s ruling and Wells Fargo Bank's and Rels Evaluation’s written lies can also be found under the Attorney General’s Ruling tab or the following link: Click to see Attorney General’s ruling.

Almost 2-years into our lawsuit, with the following clear evidences, there was no judgment:

• Bank’s fraudulent appraisal - valued our home for $718,000.
• Bank’s own review appraisal - valued our home for $475,000.
• Based on the Attorney General’s ruling, the appraisal used by Wells Fargo bank for our mortgage loan transaction was fraudulent and suspended the appraiser’s license. 

During our first settlement conference, Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer told us that “there are NO LAWS in United States governing the appraisal and mortgage fraud situation we are in.”  We immediately requested the Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer to record the conversation.  However, she refused.  We then clearly expressed to Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer that we believed that there are State and Federal laws governing appraisal and mortgage fraud situations we are in.  If not, we would contact all government entities relevant to making laws to ensure that homeowners are protected from appraisal and mortgage fraud. We interpreted Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer's position as misleading and an abuse of her judicial power. 

Shortly after, just weeks before Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer’s scheduled summary judgment ruling, she transferred the case to Judge Robert Perry, citing work overload.
 

In March, 2009, 2 months 3 days after Judge Robert Perry received our case, despite of the material facts, he dismissed our lawsuit on the ground of no merits.  He made his summary judgment ruling in favor of Wells Fargo bank, Rels Evaluation and the appraiser T. J. Magee, who lost his license for the fraudulent appraisal he did on our home.  Most erroneously, Judge Robert Perry also awarded and allowed the convicted appraisal collect $4,718.56 attorney fee from us, the direct victims of his actual appraisal fraud. 

District Court Chief Judge Connie Steinheimer and  Judge Robert Perry never addressed our complaints that it is illegal for Wells Fargo to make mortgage loan to us based on fraudulent and hugely inflated appraisal.

In April, 2009, we filed notice of appeal with Supreme Court

January, 12th, 2010, Wells Fargo Bank filed notice of default against our home based on fraudulent appraisal and mortgage loan.

February 18^th, 2010, we filed motion for stay pending Supreme Court appeal with the District Court.

March 9^th, 2010, Wells Fargo Bank filed opposition to our motion for stay.  In its opposition, it quoted Chief Judge’s statement “there are no laws in United States governing the appraisal and mortgage fraud situation we are in.” as grounds of its defense and the reason for denying our motion for stay. 

March 22^nd, 2010, we filed a reply to Defendants’ opposition with District Court.

March 25^th, 2010, District Court Judge Robert Perry denied our motion on the grounds that he has no  jurisdiction.  It’s an erroneous ruling and pure tactics to aid Wells Fargo bank in abusing the judicial system and encouraging Wells Fargo Bank further to victimize us. 

April 1^st, 2010, we filed motion for stay pending appeal with Supreme Court. 

April 8th, 2010, Supreme Court denied our motion for stay.  Supreme Court never addressed our statements listed in the motion for stay:

        (a)    It is illegal for Wells Fargo to make mortgage loan to us based on fraudulent appraisal.
        (b)    It is illegal for Wells Fargo to foreclose our home based on fraudulent appraisal and mortgage loan.

April 19^th, 2010, we filed the Opening Statement with the Supreme Court. We are waiting for Supreme Court’s ruling.

June 1st, 2010, we filed Motion to Enlarge Time to File Reconsideration and Emergency Motion for Reconsideration. Nevada Supreme Court denied our motion to save our home.

June 15th, 2010 we filed the Lis Pendens with Nevada Supreme Court, alerting everyone that there is litigation on our home.  However, November 3, 2010, Wells Fargo instructed its attorneys to file with Nevada Second Judicial District Court to dismiss our Lis Pendens and demand us to appear in front of the Judge to show cause why Wells Fargo can't foreclose our home based on fraudulent appraisal and fraudulent mortgage loan.  Here is our response: Motion to Dismiss Expunge of Lis Pendens.

This is how Wells Fargo's counsels address our Motion to Dismiss Expunge of Lis Pendens . Wells Fargo Counsels non-defense defense. Most obviously, Wells Fargo's counsels made no defense or explanation on how its client Wells Fargo can legally under Nevada State Law to

- originate mortgage loan based on huely inflated and fraudulent appraisal. 
- knowingly record Notice of Default and Notice of Sale based on fraudulent appraisal and fraudulent mortgage loan.
- knowingly, wrongfully foreclose home based on fraudulent appraisal and fraudulent mortgage loan.
It took substantial time for Washoe County Second Judicial Court to deny Wells Fargo's frivolous Motion to Expunge our Lis Pendens, citing no jurisdiction. Court's Ruling Denying Wells Motion to Expunge Lis Pendens. We have to file Motion and challenge the Court's jurisdiction to facilitate Wells Fargo's counsels to abuse judicial process and commit Fraud on the Court.
Almost a year ago, Wells Fargo's counsels didn't even have to responde to our Motion for Stay before Washoe County Second Judicial Court to deny our Motion for Stay, citing no jurisdiction.  It also took considerable less time for the Court to make its ruling. 
It's been a 6-year battle and almost 4 of them in Nevada Courts fighting against Wells Fargo's loan origination fraud, wrongful foreclosure and fraud on the court.  We will fight until justice prevails. 
Here is our Motion for Sanction for Frivolous Motion. 
We hope that our determination in holding Wells Fargo accountable will inspire you to join the fight.  The bottom line is that same laws shall also apply to big banks like Wells Fargo.  If Wells Fargo and its counsels committ the fraud on the court, they should be held accountable.