Tell your senators: Stop corporate tax dodgers, fund climate solutions.

Dear Friend,

Help make corporations pay their fair share on Tax Day -- and generate funds to fight climate change. Urge your senators to co-sponsor the CUT Unjustified Tax Loopholes Act.

When Tax Day comes around, I can’t help but wonder: How are executives at big tax-dodging corporations like General Electric celebrating?

I’m inclined to think they’re breaking out the party hats and champagne. That’s because GE is one of dozens of U.S. corporations that paid a negative federal income tax rate between 2008 and 2010. GE made more than $10 billion in profits -- yet was able to game the myriad loopholes and giveaways that exist in our tax system to pay no income taxes and even bank a hefty surplus from Uncle Sam.¹

This Tax Day, it’s time to show big multinational corporations that their tax-dodging party days are numbered. Urge your senators to co-sponsor the Cut Unjustified Tax Loopholes Act today.

Senators Carl Levin and Kent Conrad introduced the CUT Loopholes Act to crack down on corporate tax dodgers -- companies that hide their profits in tax havens, also known as secrecy jurisdictions, and use other accounting gimmicks to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Why is cracking down on tax dodging important to us? The obvious answer is it will make our tax system fairer. It’s common sense that the most profitable companies on the planet should pay their fair share of taxes.

But there’s another huge reason. If we stop letting corporations siphon away tax revenue, we’ll have billions more dollars available to fight climate change and improve people’s lives.

The CUT Loopholes Act could generate $155 billion over 10 years, revenue that could be used to invest in clean energy solutions, help poor countries address the impacts of climate change and improve the quality of health and education here at home and around the world. Money that’s padding the profits of big corporations today could be invested in urgent public needs tomorrow -- if we close big tax loopholes.

Urge your senators to co-sponsor the CUT Loopholes Act today.

Friends of the Earth is working with a coalition of faith-based, labor union, anti-poverty, development, government transparency, tax policy and other public interest organizations to advance this bill. In order to pass it -- and make future Tax Days fairer -- we need to get more senators on board as co-sponsors.

Thanks for speaking out for tax justice!
Karen Orenstein
International policy campaigner, Friends of the Earth

P.S. The CUT Loopholes Act will crack down on tax dodgers, but it won’t eliminate the billions in taxpayer subsidies enjoyed by GE and corporate polluters like ExxonMobil. We’ll have important news on progress toward ending those soon. For now, urge your senators to close tax loopholes that help line the pockets of greedy corporations!

1. Citizens for Tax Justice and U.S. PIRG. Loopholes for Sale: Campaign Contributions by Corporate Tax Dodgers. March 21, 2012.