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Some Common Cents for November 18th, 2016

A couple of months ago, I wrote about an exchange I had with a CPA at a conference where I was the presenter. This person was very much against any potential reduction in the corporate tax rate, apparently due to his personal perception of fairness, as opposed to professional misgivings. Let’s just say we agreed to disagree.

Now, I don’t believe we should eliminate corporate taxes, even if I were to benefit from it. Corporations avail themselves to the protection of laws, as well as the use of the nation’s infrastructure. Simply put, you should chip in if you are using it, whatever it is. Don’t bother arguing with me about double and triple taxation of the same dollar; I am not going to change my mind, even though I completely understand your argument.

Currently, the corporate tax rate in the United States is 35%. That is at the Federal levels, as the various states have their own. For instance, the top marginal corporate tax rate in California is 8.84%. That means a company headquartered in California could ultimately pay up to 43.84% tax on the profit it realizes in that state. Obviously, that is a lot of money, and I am more than certain plenty of companies out there go to great extremes to actually conduct business in various subsidiaries which are HQ’d or domiciled elsewhere.

But how does that compare? …Read More…

The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.