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Robbie,
GE didn't take all the legal deductions that were available like you or I do. They write the tax code to suit their interests and demand tax breaks from municipalities not offered to anyone else. The New York Times reported a few days ago just how much that costs and how little that helps our society. When a company like GM gets millions in tax credits from a state to keep a plant open there and then closes the plant anyway a few years later, the public is stuck with the debt burden and the company walks away with the benefit. It works the same way internationally.
The UK is now dealing with companies like Google and Starbucks paying 0 taxes while local businesses are being taxed at too high a rate to compensate for the loss in revenue. The US has some people who earn a million dollars paying 3x the rate paid by other people earning the same amount. The tax system is broken globally in much the same way piracy laws are broken globally. Nations are being marginalized by corporations, Jamie Dimon has more clout than the leader of most nations.
Madalton is correct that the solution is a series of moves to unify rates, but we are very far away from making those sorts of international deals. In the meantime, just as a 3% tax break won't stop Minte from eventually automating his operations, allowing Goldman Sachs to pay 2% does nothing to stabilize or improve our economy. Throwing cash at welfare recipients is not the answer, whether they are on welfare making $30.00 per year or 300M per year.
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