[POLL] Activists Protest Tax Day, Demand 1 % Pay Fair Share

Westchester activists—who held a demonstration at a Tuesday, said corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes, just like everyone else, to help boost U.S. economics and bounce back from a recession.

“We’re here today to express our outrage that the rich and corporations like GE and Verizon have been allowed to play by a different set of rules than the rest of us and aren't paying their fair share to help rebuild the economy,” said Marjorie Morales, a local Westchester MoveOn.org member, in a press release. “Taxing the 1 percent is the quickest way to rebuild our economy so that it works for everyone. We pay our fair share of taxes. Corporations should too."

The New York Times reported that General Electric (GE) made $14.2 billion worldwide and $5.1 billion in the U.S. in 2010, didn’t pay a dime in taxes and got at tax credit of $3.2 billion.  Click here to read the full article.

According to U.S. News & World Report, companies like Exxon Mobil, Verizon and General Electric hire lobbyists to help whittle down their tax rates. The website reports that AT&T spend more than $70 million on lobbyists and saw a 40.04 percent decrease in their rate—a savings of more than $7 billion in corporate taxes. Click here to read the full article.

Westchester MoveOn.org and CWA Local 1103 joined hundreds of thousands of people around the country who also celebrated Tax Day with protests, after receiving training in non-violent direct action as a part of the 99 % Spring movement.

“The events will seek to change a system in which Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, Mitt Romney pays only a 14% tax rate, and Wall Street and Big Oil get billions in tax kickbacks,” said Morales. “Wells Fargo alone has received tens of billions of dollars in tax giveaways over the last few years, and some giant corporations pay no U.S. taxes.”

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