I knew that Corporations were encroaching more and more on our so called ‘democracy’ (closer to  ”corporate-fascism” me thinks), what with the Bush Administration throwing them a bone at every opportunity.  But this is nuts: now the primary burdon of keeping our country fiscally operationally is on us, the “litte guy”.  Are you ready to shoulder that responsibility?  Because it’s here.  The report below is taken from the Congressional Quarterly:

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Most corporations, including the vast majority of foreign companies doing business in the United States, pay no income taxes, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.

    During the eight-year period covered by the report, 72 percent of foreign-owned corporations went at least one year without owing taxes, and the same was true for 55 percent of domestic corporations.

    Small companies were much more likely to pay no taxes than larger companies. Still, more than 3,500 large domestic corporations – with more than $250 million in assets or $50 million in gross receipts – did not pay taxes in 2005.

    The report said about 80 percent of the companies studied paid no taxes because they didn’t generate any profit after expenses. Money-losing companies can legitimately owe no tax, and others can use provisions of the tax code to lower or eliminate their liability.

    But the lawmakers who sought the data seized on the report as proof of corporate gamesmanship.

    ”It’s shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country,” said Byron L. Dorgan , D-N.D., who requested the report along with Carl Levin , D-Mich. “The tax system that allows this wholesale tax avoidance is an embarrassment and unfair to hardworking Americans who pay their fair share of taxes. We need to plug these tax loopholes and put these corporations back on the tax rolls.”

    The report covered the period from 1998 through 2005. During that time, corporate income taxes as a share of gross domestic product dipped, from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 1.2 percent in 2003, the lowest share since 1983. But receipts jumped after that, hitting 2.7 percent in 2006 and 2007, according to the Office of Management and Budget. That was the highest share since the late 1970s.

    The GAO report also found that foreign-owned corporations were somewhat more likely to report no income than domestic corporations. There are several possible reasons for that. Foreign corporations may be younger, and startups are more likely to have no net income after expenses. They may also be in industries with lower profit margins.

    Another possibility could be the use of transfer pricing, which companies use to account for transactions between subsidiaries in different countries. Creative, rule-stretching use of transfer pricing can allow companies to push their profits into lower-taxed jurisdictions. The report does not attempt to examine whether illegal transfer-pricing caused the difference between foreign and domestic companies.

    But companies looking for lower-taxed jurisdictions often take profits out of the United States. The country’s 35 percent top rate on corporate income is among the highest in the industrialized world.

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So, evidently our government, in conjunction with it’s Suger Daddy corporations, has found a perfect way to make us “feel sorry” for corporations, while behind the scenes they are getting away with murder.  They have the highest corporate tax rate in the world, yet the majority of them pay no taxes.   Hmmmmmm.  I guess it’s easy to show little or no profit on your tax returns when  you are making huge “campaign contributions” (read “bribes”) to your local congressional rep. while also paying your top executives astronomical salaries for coming up with innovative tax dodges.