Corporate tax breaks a payoff from Bush

Forty one companies not only owed no tax last year, they received money back. Under George Bush's plan, they will get even more tax breaks. These companies reported pre-tax profits of $25.8 billion - making more money after taxes than before taxes.

This is no figment of anyone's imagination. It's from the most respected tax authority in the country, the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy. These receiving rebates included Texaco, Chevron, PepsiCo., MCI World Com, Goodyear, and General Motors. Texaco received a tax rebate of $67.7 million, which meant it paid taxes at a rate of 37.2% on the $182 million in profits it reported. In dollar terms, tax breaks allowed these 41 firms to reduce their taxes by $98 billion over three years, with 25 companies receiving half of that amount. General Electric topped the list with $6.9 billion in tax breaks, cutting its tax bill by %77 over three years.

I find this particularly loathsome because these same corporations were, in large part, responsible for the election of Dubya.

Pay off time!

Doesn't it warm your heart to know that plain working folks, who are barely able to keep their heads above water, will also get a tax break proposed by Boy George - perhaps as much as $90, on average, a year? By the way, why hasn't an increase in Social Security been discussed for those retired and totally dependent upon this barely-livable check?

Al Bodin

Ashland