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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.
,