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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2013)
Page 8 Portland (Observer Career E ducation S P E C IA L E D IT IO N A pril 10, 2013 New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG $45.00 A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 sm all H allw ay) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services)-. $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool): $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (RequiringExtensivePre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109-$139 Chair or Recliner $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services)'. $5.00 % ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment XTv • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 HNMMM Picking up the Tab for Corporate Profits Transplanting taxes to the rest of us S cott K linger C orporate profits are setting all-tim e records w hile reg u lar fam ilies continue to struggle financially. T h ese trends are intertw ined. W hether you 'v e click ed to send y o u r tax form s to the IRS by gold m edal in the sport, but it has also draw n unw anted attention from the S ecurities and E x ch an g e C om m ission. T he SE C w rote to P fizer last y e a r asking th em to explain fo u r y ears o f large losses in th eir U .S. o perations despite rep o rtin g about 4 0 p ercent o f th eir sales on A m erican soil. U ndeterred by the SE C in v esti gation, P fizer ad d ed a fifth y ear o f U .S. losses to the string in 2012. T he co rporate offshore tax do d g e that shifts $90 billion o f tax expenses onto individual ta x payers this T ax D ay is ju s t that crazy. Just like h aving a doctor's d ip lo m a p ark ed in the C aym an Islands does nothing to im prove the quality o f care, having co rporate profits tran sferred from A m erica to tax haven nations p ro v id es no e n h an ced benefits in term s o f p ro d u ct quality or service. In o th er w ords, there is no econom ic value. It only serves to add m ore to a l read y -o v erflo w in g co rporate coffers. In the 1950s, co rp o ratio n s paid nearly Ifl Other WOrdS, there is UO economic value. It only serves to add more to already- overflowing corporate coffers. ' d d ro X p p ed ^ your eou7reTumindieoid- fashioned blue m ailbox, you'll be p aying ex tra to c o v er the grow ing am o u n t o f taxes that the nation's clev er corp o ratio n s are shunting onto individual taxpayers. O fficially, the co rporate tax rate stands at 35 percent, but in practice it's far low er. C orpora- tions have lots o f tricks in th eir box o f tax avoidance tools. C onsider Pfizer s track record. T he drugm aker increased its offsh o re profits by $ 10 billion in 2012, boosting its o ffsh o re stash to $73 billion all o f it untaxed by U ncle Sam . L ike m ost pharm aceutical com panies, P fizer registers its patents in a low -tax offshore haven, and then charges a high price fo r the use o f this "intellec tual property." D oing so, it shifts all o f its U.S. profits offshore, avoiding U .S. taxes and bloat ing its overseas bank account. . Pfizer's tax dodging p ro w ess has earned it a Im agine fo r a m o m en t one o f the physicians that p rescrib es P fizer's products taking their diplom a o ff their office w all, carefully packing it up, and shipping it to a bank vault in the C ay m an Islands. T h at d ip lo m a represents the doctor's intellectual property. W ithout it, they w o u ld not be able to practice th eir profession. A fter each visit, patients app ro ach in g the ch eck -o u t d esk w ould be given th eir bill and an en v elo p e to m ail th eir ch eck to a post o ffice box in the C ay m an Islands. F aced w ith co n fu sed looks, the receptionist cheerfully explains, "W ell, w e have to pay fo r the use o f the skills re p re sented by the d iplom a, w hich is h oused in the C aribbean." ? third o f the federal gov ern m ent's bills. L ast year, thanks to the antics o f P fizer and o th er ex am p les o f o v erly creative accounting, co rp o rate incom e taxes a c counted fo r less than a tenth o f U ncle Sam 's total revenue. This d ram atic sh o rt fall show s up in tw o w ays — federal budget d eficit grow th and the grow ing trend o f individual taxpayers p aying an in creased share o f the costs o f governm ent. O nly about tw o in ev ery thousand A m erican b usinesses are even eligible to play this gam e, and far few er actually do. M ost b usiness o w n ers are pro u d to pay taxes they know support schools, good infrastructure, and national se curity. If tax-dodging corporations w ere people, they m ight say thanks to the resp o n sib le taxpayers w ho are picking up th eir share o f unpaid taxes. B ut since they aren't hum an, allow m e to say on their behalf, "H ave a N ice T ax D ay." Scott Klinger is an associate fellow o f the Institute fo r Policy Studies. ,
