On Tax Day, Unrig Our Economy Demands Corporations and Billionaires Pay What They Owe
WASHINGTON DC — As everyday Americans hurry to file their 2021 taxes and hope for a small return, America’s ultra-wealthy are not paying what they owe — if they’re paying anything at all. Today is an important reminder that corporations and the wealthy, enabled by Republicans, have rigged our economy — and that the rigged economy is holding back working people and the middle class.
Similarly, many of America’s wealthiest corporations, such as FedEx, Nike, and Amazon, will pay next to nothing in taxes this year. These are the same corporations that are raising prices and driving up inflation, which has forced millions of working Americans to tighten their belts (all while paying our taxes). Low tax bills are simply another way wealthy corporations are placing the burden on consumers, workers, and taxpayers.
This imbalance is not an accident — it’s part of a deliberate strategy to rig our economy so that corporations and the wealthy stay on top. Working with Republicans in Congress, some of whom personally benefited, corporations and their wealthy shareholders crafted a tax code that leaves the middle class to foot the bill time and again.
Unrig Our Economy is fighting to rewrite the rules of our economy to make it work for working people, which means making corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay what they owe.
Sarah Baron, Campaign Director of Unrig Our Economy said:
“Working Americans have paid our taxes, but this Tax Day we are reminded that massive corporations and the wealthy are experts at avoiding paying theirs — not only further enriching themselves but also depriving communities of the resources that their tax dollars would provide. And it’s not an accident that they’re able to do this — they’ve successfully lobbied their allies in Congress to secure this special treatment. If we’re going to have an economy that works for working people, the wealthy need to pay what they owe.
Unrig Our Economy Advisory Board members also commented:
Indi Dutta-Gupta, Co-Executive Director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality said:
“There is no economic or moral justification for a tax system that expects less of many millionaires, billionaires, and highly profitable corporations than of millions of working people. The wealthy and well-connected can manipulate their income to take advantage of extraordinarily low business tax rates, while typical families lack the high-powered lobbyists, accountants, and lawyers to level the playing field. Even as corporate income taxes represent a smaller share of economic output than at nearly any time since the Great Depression, we’ve allowed what may have been the most effective tax credit in our history when it comes to supporting families–the expanded Child Tax Credit–to expire. It’s time to rebalance the tax system and put the working and middle class first.”
Alex Harman, Director of Government Affairs, Antimonopoly and Competition Policy at Economic Security Project Action said:
“Tax Day is one more reminder that concentrated power and wealth operates in a different system than the rest of us. Most Americans are filing their taxes today as they struggle to absorb the higher price of food and fuel. Meanwhile, mega corporations continue to not pay their fair share, while enjoying record breaking profits.”
Laura Packard, Executive Director of Health Care Voter said:
Like millions of other Americans, I just paid my taxes– while juggling health care bills and additional expenses. Tax Day shows how our economy is rigged against working people and the middle class in this country. We’re still struggling to recover from the pandemic and rising prices, but we pay the taxes we owe while billionaires and greedy corporations don’t. Everyday Americans shouldn’t have to pick up the slack of corporations and the rich, especially as many of the same companies are hiking their prices for obscene profits.
Maura Quint, Campaign Director of Americans for Tax Fairness said:
“Tax Day is a stark example of how our economy is rigged against working people and the middle class in this country. Millions of Americans who are still struggling to recover from the pandemic and rising prices are paying the taxes they owe today, while many huge corporations are using every loophole they can find to avoid paying anything at all. Everyday Americans shouldn’t be picking up the slack from corporations, especially as many of the same companies who are avoiding paying taxes are showing massive profits to their investors and hiking their prices.”