ECONOMY/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Fifteen U.S. corporations including online retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), power company Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N) and insurer Prudential Financial Inc (PRU.N) avoided U.S. tax on nearly $25 billion in combined profits last year, a tax watchdog group said on Tuesday [4-10-18]. A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, or ITEP, said data showed how profitable Fortune 500 companies have routinely lowered their tax bills long before the Republican tax overhaul signed into law by President Donald Trump in December.The 15 corporations had profits of $24.5 billion in 2017 but managed to obtain nearly $1.4 billion in rebates from the U.S. Treasury for a combined tax rate of minus 5.6 percent, according to the ITEP report, which examined corporate income tax disclosures. The nonpartisan group said the new U.S. tax regime, which slashed the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent beginning in January, will likely allow corporations avoid even more tax.”
-Reuters Staff, “U.S. companies found ways to avoid taxes before tax cut bill: report,” Reuters, April 10, 2018, 3:21 pm