ExxonMobil paid no federal income tax in 2009. General Electric owed nothing to Uncle Sam

Originally posted by predator0187
Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS:

How does a couple of the biggest companies in the world pay no tax?

From the article you provided Exxon Mobil did indeed pay taxes, more then any other corporation, just no income tax.

I suspect we will see more of this as corporations do what everyone else does, look for loop holes. Everyone has avoided paying some sort of tax at one point or another, it just becomes more egregious when a multi-national conglomerate does it to the tune of billions.

reply to post by AugustusMasonicus


Exxon moved their taxes abroad to tax shelters -- that's the most common way of avoiding taxes.

So you just report your losses in the U.S. and then report your profits in tax shelters -- and presto -- you pay taxes but much less or none at all.

motherjones.com...

So, good news and bad news. The good news is, oil megacorporation ExxonMobil had such a profitable year in 2009, it contributed $15 billion to the world's tax coffers. The bad news: Not a cent of that went to the IRS.

[edit on 14-4-2010 by drew hempel]

They don't pay taxes. They make campaign contributions.