Spotlight Report

The Corporate Income Tax: Repeal, Not Reform

posted on in Economic Growth & Development, Law & Regulation, Spending & Taxes
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Key facts:

  • The corporate income tax imposes a second and even a third layer of taxation on people’s incomes and is hidden, dishonest, and inconsistent with informed decision making in a free and democratic society.
  • North Carolina has had a corporate income tax since 1921. Between 1921 and 1991 the rate increased from 3 percent to 7.75 percent. It was then lowered every year between 1997 and 2000 to its current rate of 6.9 percent.
  • The corporate income tax is riddled with special exemptions meant to facilitate government manipulation of the economy.
  • The corporate income tax is based on the myth that corporations actually pay taxes. In fact ,corporations not only do not pay taxes, they cannot pay taxes.
  • All taxes “paid” by a corporation must come out of real people’s wallets or bank accounts. These real people are shareholders, employees, and customers.
  • In order to make intelligent voting decisions, citizens need to be aware of how much their government is costing them. The corporate income tax is a deceptive tax because it is invisible to those who are paying it.


Spotlight 416 The Corporate Income Tax: Repeal, Not Reform

In June 2019 Roy Cordato retired from his full time position as Senior Economist and Resident Scholar at the John Locke Foundation and currently holds the position of Senior Economist Emeritus at the Foundation. From January 2001 to March 2017,… ...

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