Why didn't Obama tell Americans the US has the second LOWEST corporate taxes in the developed world?
Is the information I provided in the links below correct? The articles are directed at recent Republican claims that the US has a high corporate tax rate. Why would Obama repeat debunked Republican talking points in his SOTU address?
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/05/260535/graph-corporate-tax-second-lowest/?mobile=nc
GRAPH: Contrary To GOP Claims, U.S. Has Second Lowest Corporate Taxes In The Developed World
By Marie Diamond on Jul 5, 2011 at 3:50 pm
During negotiations regarding raising the nation’s debt limit, congressional Republicans have defended tax loopholes for corporations, claiming that America has a high corporate tax rate that is stifling economic growth and job creation. But the Center for Tax Justice (CTJ) has crunched the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Office of Management and Budget, and the Census Bureau, and finds that “the U.S. is already one of the least taxed countries for corporations in the developed world.”
As a share of GDP, the U.S. had the second lowest tax rate, behind only Iceland. This statistic flips on its head the often-repeated Republican charge that America has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world (which is only true on paper). In 2009, U.S. corporate taxes had fallen to only 1.3 percent of GDP, from 4 percent in 1965.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-or-low/
May 31, 2011, 6:00 am
Are Taxes in the U.S. High or Low?
By BRUCE BARTLETT
<edit>
Just last week, House Republicans released a new plan to reduce unemployment. Its principal provision would reduce the top statutory income tax rate on businesses and individuals to 25 percent from 35 percent. No evidence was offered for the Republican argument that cutting taxes for the well-to-do and big corporations would reduce unemployment; it was simply asserted as self-evident.
One would not know from the Republican document that corporate taxes are expected to raise just 1.3 percent of G.D.P. in revenue this year, about a third of what it was in the 1950s.
The G.O.P. says global competitiveness requires the United States to reduce its corporate tax rate. But the United States actually has the lowest corporate tax burden of any of the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
If taxes are low historically and in comparison with our global competitors, how are Republicans able to maintain that taxes are excessively high? They do so by ignoring the effective tax rate and concentrating solely on the statutory tax rate, which is often manipulated to make it appear that rates are much higher than they really are.
<edit>
= new reply since forum marked as read
the first, as your post quotes, reflects taxes as a % of GDP ("total federal revenues divided by the gross domestic product."
We rank low on this list, because other countries collect more taxes relative to their GDP.
The second (effective taxes) reflects tax rates as a percent of income. Obama's remarks are accurate because the USA taxes corporations at a higher rate than many other countries.
You and Obama are both correct, you are just seeing taxes from two perspectives, and measuring two different aspects.
Think of it like one person telling you how many calories there are per cookie, and another telling you how many cookies are in the cupboard, relative to other snacks.
Does that make sense? Not sure that what I wrote represents the way I'm thinking...
