REPORT: As Senate Takes Up Biden Build Back Better Agenda, Corporations Lobbying Against Paying Their Fair Share Have History of Dodging Taxes

New Analysis Reveals Corporations That Have Spoken Out Against or Lobbied on Tax Provisions in Biden’s Build Back Better Plan Have Histories of Tax Avoidance and Schemes 

Washington, D.C. — Today, government watchdog Accountable.US released a new report finding a group of major corporations that have already spoken out and/or lobbied against the tax provisions in President Biden’s Build Back Better blueprint have sordid histories of tax avoidance and tax schemes, amounting to billions of dollars in lost federal revenue. The analysis comes as the U.S. Senate passed its budget blueprint that calls for investments in child care, paid leave, education, and climate change programs to be paid for by asking big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.   

Accountable.US identified eight companies, including Walmart, Walgreens, Shell Oil, and Accenture, that have explicitly lobbied on corporate tax provisions in Biden’s American Jobs Plan along with four companies whose executives publicly pushed back against the provisions, all while also avoiding paying their fair share.  

“Corporations that have exploited tax loopholes for years—avoiding tens of billions of dollars in taxes through elaborate schemes and literally thousands of offshore subsidiaries—are desperate to keep the system rigged in their favor at the expense of working families. The last people lawmakers should be listening to for policy advice are tax-dodging executives who have made out like bandits the last four years, while more and more Americans have lost hope of reaching the middle class,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “Trump’s tax cuts for the rich furthered income inequality and shortchanged priorities that would build a stronger economy for all. Companies that want to continue benefiting from public investments without chipping in their fair share should not have even have a seat at the table in this debate. Congress should instead listen to the vast majority of Americans that want to see big businesses finally contribute their fair share, let alone what they already owe.” 

Read the full analysis from Accountable.US HERE.

KEY POINTS:  

• Johnson & Johnson, whose CFO pushed back on Biden’s proposed tax increases, avoided billions in taxes globally via the use of tax havens, holding tens of billions offshore accounts.
   
• JPMorgan Chase, which categorized Biden’s tax increases as negative and had its CEO call them “’a little crazy,’” held thousands of offshore subsidiaries located in tax havens and moved billions through them. The company also paid millions in fines for tax evasion, faced criminal charges for tax evasion in France, and formed secret agreements with a notorious tax haven’s government.
   
• FedEx, whose CEO publicly opposed Biden’s proposed tax increases, formed secret agreements with a tax haven’s government which it used to pay a less-than-1% tax rate. FedEx paid a negative net tax rate in 2018 in part due to their use of tax avoidance strategies.  
   
• DuPont de Nemours, whose CFO said Biden’s proposed tax increases would damage US competitiveness, paid far less than the corporate tax rate for years, stashed billions offshore, and was forced to pay an SEC fine for failing to disclose executive compensation.

• Walmart, which hired a lobbying firm to “[monitor] tax proposals related to infrastructure and the proposed American Jobs Plan,” has stashed billions in offshore tax havens to avoid paying billions in federal taxes and engaged in a series of tax avoidance schemes to avoid paying millions in state and municipal taxes. 

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