Business leaders call for closing corporate tax loopholes

The revolutions grows:

Hundreds of business leaders across the nation, including several from Wisconsin, called on Congress and President Obama today to close corporate tax haven loopholes costing the U.S. Treasury $100 billion a year and reject “revenue neutral” corporate tax reform in a fiscal cliff deal that would lock in today’s historically low levels of corporate tax receipts.

They urged lawmakers and Obama to restore tax revenues lost to corporate tax avoidance and resist lobbying by CEOs to create a territorial tax system that would reward corporations for shifting more U.S. profits and jobs overseas.

The 626 business owners and executives who signed the letter sent by the American Sustainable Business Council, Business for Shared Prosperity and the Main Street Alliance to Congress and the president said they “want a tax system that is fair and provides sufficient revenue for the public services and infrastructure that underpin our economy. When powerful large U.S. corporations avoid their fair share of taxes, they undermine U.S. competitiveness, contribute to the national debt and shift more of the tax burden to domestic businesses, especially small businesses that create most of the new jobs.”

“We need to stop the gaming of the tax system by large corporations, which undercuts small business and our whole economy,” said Lew Prince, a St. Louis small business owner and leader in Business for Shared Prosperity who recently met with President Obama at the White House. “With corporate profits at 50-year highs and corporate taxes at 50-year lows, the last thing we need is to freeze corporate taxes at this low level through revenue neutral corporate tax reform. There’s nothing neutral about big business tax dodging – it’s unpatriotic plain and simple.” ...

It's only a matter of time before the oligarchies collapse and justice is restored.  If not, then we are in for a world of hurt.

The Walker Budget Keeps On Working! Part CXXXII

As I've said time and time again, when Scott Walker took our money out of circulation and gave it to his already filthy rich campaign donors and supporters, that means we have to cut back on the niceties in life, like going out to eat or going to the movies. As a consequence, these businesses suffer:

After decades as a landmark restaurant on the Milwaukee’s East Side, Palermo Villa is closing, according to a report at OnMilwaukee.com, a media partner of BizTimes.

"Palermo Villa Restaurant, on Murray Avenue, has closed its doors," owner Kathy Mirenda said in an e-mail. "For 34 years we have been serving our traditional, classic Italian cuisine and pizza. Our long-standing clientele has considered us the place that never changes, and we have always thought that to be a compliment. It has become evident that we can no longer do business as usual. We are closing during these difficult economic times in hopes to recreate and reopen in the future. To all our loyal customers and friends, we thank you for your support and patronage these many years."

Thank goodness that we are experiencing that job explosion Walker promised us would happen after he survived the recall.

The Walker Budget Keeps On Working! Part XCCV

I've said it time and time again, but for some people, it's apparently not enough times.

When Scott Walker enacted his budgets and his policies, he took money away from the people, and out of circulation, to give to his wealth campaign contributors, most of whom come from other states. Because their money was taken away, people are forced to cut back on their spending, and among the first things to be cut are things like going to movies, going out to eat, etc. And when people stop spending on these niceties, the businesses like theaters and restaurants suffer.

Case in point (emphasis mine):

Fila Bene Ristorante Italiano in Mequon has closed, according to the restaurant’s outgoing voicemail message.

“Today is a sad yet hopeful day,” partner Angelo Vasta said in the message.
He said the restaurant closed because it didn’t have enough customers to support the cost of operations. But he’s hopeful about his next step.

And the beat(ings) go on...

The Walker Budget Is Already Working! Part LXXVII

And now it's killing businesses that had been around for generations:

Soref's Carpet City has closed, according to a sign on its door.

The longtime carpet retailer was closed Tuesday, but the sign said remaining inventory will be sold at a "deep discount" by appointment only, providing a phone number of (414) 943-2517. All gift cards will be honored, according to the sign.

The store at 431 S. Second St., Milwaukee, had been open for more than 45 years. It was facing several lawsuits for unpaid taxes or bills, including one from WITI-TV (Channel 6) and two from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue alleging nearly $10,000 in unpaid taxes and unemployment compensation. It also was delinquent in $20,000 in property taxes and fees for 2010 and 2011, according to the Milwaukee City Assessor's Office.

There is no word on how many people have lost their job due to Walker "turning the state around."

The Walker Budget Is Already Working! Part LXXVI

There was a close call in Milwaukee when it appeared two classic movie theaters were about to be the latest beneficiaries of Scott Walker's budget:

The Times and Rosebud cinemas will close the first week of March after the lender foreclosed on the properties, according to a news release from the owner.

The Times, 5906 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, and Rosebud, 6823 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa, are two of a handful of independently owned cinemas left in the Milwaukee area. They were bought in 2007 by David Glazer, but their value plummeted after the real estate crash and Glazer was unable to refinance the loan, he said.

It was sad, but not surprising, news. I, among many, have been repeatedly pointing out that when Walker took money out of the people's pockets to give to his campaign donors, the first reaction is to cut out the luxury items and niceties, like eating out or catching a movie.

Fortunately, just as with the recall movement, it was shown that when people pull together, disaster can be avoided. The bank is going to allow the theaters to remain open under the management of their former owner until a buyer can be found.