GOP Congressman: ?Not Fair At All? And ?Offensive? That G.E. Paid No Taxes In 2010
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on April 9th, 2011 4:36 am by HL
GOP Congressman: ?Not Fair At All? And ?Offensive? That G.E. Paid No Taxes In 2010
Despite being America’s largest company and making $14.2 billion in profits last year, General Electric paid zero dollars in federal taxes last year — in fact, it claimed a $3.2 billion “tax benefit.” As ThinkProgress has reported, in a time of strained government budgets, a number of Republican lawmakers have astonishingly defended G.E.’s tax dodging, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich even telling ThinkProgress that “we should celebrate” corporations exploiting tax loopholes “as a good thing.” But on CSPAN’s Washington Journal this morning, GOP Rep. Reid Ribble (WI) called G.E.’s tax dodging “offensive” and unfair:
HOST: But when you see a company like G.E., which earned $14 billion last year, it was able to write off some losses, and it paid zero taxes in 2010. Is that fair?
RIBBLE: No, that’s not fair at all! As a matter a of fact, it’s totally disenheartening. It’s offensive to me as a business owner, who pays taxes. I believe that we need to have a flatter tax rate for corporations and make them more competitive around the world, and we need to close loopholes.
Watch it:
Later in the interview, Ribble also said subsidies for oil companies should be “looked at.” Perhaps Ribble will use his position on the House Budget Committee to advocate against these loopholes and subsidies. Although, in March, Ribble joined the entire Republican caucus in voting to protect oil subsidies.
RNC Chair Reince Priebus Validates Birther Donald Trump?s Candidacy With Introductory Phone Call
Real estate mogul and confirmed birther Donald Trump received an “introductory” phone call from Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus Thursday, the same day Trump announced he was sending investigators to Hawaii to research President Obama’s birth. Just a day before, a new poll showed Trump running in a statistical dead-heat with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), also a presidential candidate, and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly have denounced Trump’s birther conspiracy. But with Priebus’ call, the RNC appears willing and ready to embrace a Trump candidacy. Politico reports:
Nonetheless, the call is validation of Trump’s role on the national scene and his draw for the GOP right now, at a time when many Republicans are bemoaning their choices for 2012 and looking for something fresh.
Trump’s birther strategy, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. He is scheduled to meet this morning with Tea Party leaders and Arizona state Rep. Carl Seel (R) to discuss the state’s birther bill, which would require presidential candidates to prove they are natural born citizens.
