This tax season, Amazon filed for a $129 million refund.
How much did you get back?
Maybe you were one of the many people who got less in refunds then they expected—or actually had to pay taxes for the first time in many years.
Or maybe not. But either way, as this tax season comes to a close, it’s clear that corporations and the ultra-wealthy were the ones that made out the best under the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cut. And that’s not surprising, given that they were the ones putting enormous pressure on our elected officials to pass it.
From offshoring money to demanding subsidies and tax incentives from cities (think Amazon ), to exploiting loopholes in tax law to the full extent possible (think General Electric)—corporations have found every way possible to hold on to and grow their profits.
These corporations are generating—and protecting—enormous profits that, in turn, grow the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy. One way they do this is by avoiding paying taxes. Less money paid into our common pool of resources means more money going into already-wealthy shareholders’ pockets.
And the result? Vast income inequality, a widening racial and gender wealth divide, and a failing system that doesn’t provide, take care of, or adequately manage the resources and services we all need.
Just a few examples: Our aging water infrastructure is in dire need of public reinvestment. Public schools struggle mightily around the country. And in most places in the U.S. public transportation isn’t equitable, is in need of major reinvestment, or doesn’t even exist.
And while corporations play a huge role in driving these systemic breakdowns on one hand, they are also lining up to profit from these breakdowns on the other.
That’s why we need to take the system back. We need transformative, deep-seated changes where corporations do not get to write the rules and where people and our government hold them accountable.
And that’s the kind of change you support when you give to Corporate Accountability. You can help activate people power to challenge and change corporations that are rigging the system. And you can power campaigns that compel transnational corporations to stop trampling human rights, destroying democracy, and devastating the planet.
Together we can build a just future for all by creating a world where corporations answer to people, not the other way around.
Photo credit: Chris Potter at ccPixs.com.
