Pa&
e 8 ___________________$}nrtlanò (PbserUer
lune 19,2013
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CH G
$45.00
A small distance/travel charge
may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 sta irs - With
O th e r S ervices): $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(RequiringExtensive Pre-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
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Gaming Taxes to Boost Corporate Profits
It’s time for business
to invest in America
by
S cott K linger
The swashbuckling pirates
of old amassed private for­
tunes by raiding ships and
stealing them. Once they cap­
tured a ship, they would re­
place its flag — which repre­
sented one of the world's sov­
ereign nations— with the Jolly Roger. By flying
the skull and crossbones, pirates proclaimed
that they were out for their own benefit and
theirs alone.
Many American corporations are following
this pirate tradition. Their crews aren't sword-
wielding ruffians, but high-priced lobbyists and
accountants. They fight for, win, and then ex­
ploit loopholes in the tax code that allow multi­
national corporations to take profits earned in
the United States and legally shift them to tax
havens like the Cayman Islands, Ireland, and
Luxembourg.
This accounting hocus-pocus allows U.S.
corporations to deny the Treasury about $100
billion a year. The money, which could go a long
way toward plugging the holes in our federal
budget, is tantamount to private booty stashed
in a modern-day tax haven cove.
Instead o f the Jolly Roger, one o f these
contem porary pirate gangs flies the so-called
Fix the D ebt flag. This lobby group has more
than 100 corporate ships in its flotilla. T o­
gether they're fighting to cut Social Security
and M edicare and to scrap U.S. taxes on their
offshore booty, which collectively totals $544
billion.
That's according to "Corporate Pirates of
the Caribbean," a new Institute for Policy
Studies report I co-authored. If C aptain Dave
Cote o f the Honeywell ship, Jolly Jeff Immelt,
who com m ands GE's vessel, and their pals
prevail, together they'll split a $ 173 billion tax
windfall.
For the first half of American history, taxes on
business activity, like trading, paid m ost of the
government's bills. As recently as World W ar II,
U.S. corporations stood by our country as cor­
porate taxes accounted for nearly 40 percent of
federal revenue. No corporate leaders back then
called for tax cuts or complained that high taxes
made them uncompetitive. They proudly flew
Old Glory outside their businesses and paid to
keep the nation strong.
The picture is quite different today. Last year,
more than $1.9 trillion of U.S. corporate profits
were moored offshore — none of it taxed in the
United States. "American companies are now
reporting more business profits in Bermuda and
Luxembourg than the reported value of all goods
and services these two countries produce in a
year," according to a new report published by
the government's non-partisan Congressional
Research Service.
In the face of the growing budget deficit,
corporate leaders like those in Fix the Debt are
demanding federal spending cuts while also
calling for even more corporate tax cuts. They're
arguing that they're needed to make American
businesses, already enjoying record levels of
profits, stronger still.
Really? Budget cuts advocated by gangs ol
corporate pirates have forced more than 300,000
laid-off teachers to walk the plank and robbed
hungry older Americans of four million meals
due to budget cuts in the Meals on Wheels
program.
The money lost when corporations avoid
their taxes by burying their booty offshore hurts
the country they all say they love. But it's also
bad for business. Technology leaders Google
and Microsoft both claim they have to look
abroad for workers with the skills they need.
Perhaps if Google and Microsoft invested in
America by paying their taxes, rather than by
shifting vast amounts of U.S. profits offshore,
our schools would have the money they need to
develop the strong math and science programs
necessary to compete in a 21st century world.
"We're an American company, and we're
proud to be an American company," Apple CEO
Tim Cook recently told the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations. "We're there
because we love it there. It's who we are as
people."
U.S. business leaders need to back up Cook's
message by replacing the Jolly Roger flying
from their corporate flagpole and running up Old
Glory instead.
Instead of gaming the tax system to boost
corporate profits, American business leaders
need to start investing more in this nation, which
has done so much to make their companies
great.
Scott Klinger is an Institute fo r Policy Stud­
ies associate fellow.