“The report finds that in 2018, 60 of America’s biggest corporations zeroed out their federal income taxes on $79 billion in U.S. pretax income. Instead of paying $16.4 billion in taxes at the 21 percent statutory corporate tax rate, these companies enjoyed a net corporate tax rebate of $4.3 billion.”
Corporate Tax Avoidance Remains Rampant Under New Tax Law
Read the follow-up report released in December 2019,
Corporate Tax Avoidance in the First Year of the Trump Tax Law.
60 Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoided All Federal Income Taxes in 2018
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For decades, profitable Fortune 500 companies have manipulated the tax system to avoid paying even a dime in tax on billions of dollars in U.S. profits. This ITEP report provides the first comprehensive look at how corporate tax changes under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affect the scale of corporate tax avoidance. The report finds that in 2018, 60 of America’s biggest corporations zeroed out their federal income taxes on $79 billion in U.S. pretax income. Instead of paying $16.4 billion in taxes at the 21 percent statutory corporate tax rate, these companies enjoyed a net corporate tax rebate of $4.3 billion.
Companies Represent Diverse Economic Sectors
The companies avoiding income taxes in 2018 represent a range of segments of the U.S. economy:
- Computer maker International Business Machines (IBM) earned $500 million in U.S. income and received a federal income tax rebate of $342 million.
- The retail giant Amazon reported $11 billion of U.S. income and claimed a federal income tax rebate of $129 million.
- The streaming service Netflix paid no federal income tax on $856 million of U.S. income.
- Beer maker Molson Coors enjoyed $1.3 billion of U.S. income in 2018 and received a federal income tax rebate of $22.9 million.
- Automaker General Motors reported a negative tax rate on $4.3 billion of income.
All 60 companies’ effective federal income tax rates for 2018 are shown in the table below.
60 Companies Avoiding All Federal Income Taxes in 2018
U.S. Income and Federal Tax figures in millions of dollars.
| Company | U.S. Income | Federal Tax | Effective Tax Rate | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activision Blizzard | $447447 | $-228-228 | -51%-51 | Computers, office equip, software, data |
| AECOM Technology | $238238.241 | $-122-122 | -51%-51 | Engineering & construction |
| Alaska Air Group | $576576 | $-5-5 | -1%-1 | Transportation |
| Amazon.com | $10,83510835 | $-129-129 | -1%-1 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| Ameren | $1,0351035 | $-10-10 | -1%-1 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| American Electric Power | $1,9431942.7 | $-32-32 | -2%-2 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Aramark | $315314.921 | $-48-48 | -15%-15 | Miscellaneous services |
| Arrow Electronics | $167166.536 | $-12-12 | -7%-7 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| Arthur Gallagher | $322322.2 | — — | — — | Financial |
| Atmos Energy | $600600.069 | $-10-10 | -2%-2 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Avis Budget Group | $7878 | $-7-7 | -9%-9 | Motor vehicles and parts |
| Celanese | $480480 | $-142-142 | -30%-30 | Chemicals |
| Chevron | $4,5474547 | $-181-181 | -4%-4 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| Cliffs Natural Resources | $565565 | $-1-1 | 0%0 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| CMS Energy | $774774 | $-67-67 | -9%-9 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Deere | $2,1522152 | $-268-268 | -12%-12 | Industrial machinery |
| Delta Air Lines | $5,0735073 | $-187-187 | -4%-4 | Transportation |
| Devon Energy | $1,2971297 | $-14-14 | -1%-1 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| Dominion Resources | $3,0213021 | $-45-45 | -1%-1 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| DTE Energy | $1,2151215 | $-17-17 | -1%-1 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Duke Energy | $3,0293029 | $-647-647 | -21%-21 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Eli Lilly | $598597.612 | $-54-54 | -9%-9 | Pharmaceuticals & medical products |
| EOG Resources | $4,0674067.108 | $-304-304 | -7%-7 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| FirstEnergy | $1,4951495 | $-16-16 | -1%-1 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Gannett | $76.796 | $-11-11 | -164%-164 | Publishing, printing |
| General Motors | $4,3204320 | $-104-104 | -2%-2 | Motor vehicles and parts |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | $440440 | $-15-15 | -3%-3 | Motor vehicles and parts |
| Halliburton | $1,0821082 | $-19-19 | -2%-2 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| Honeywell International | $2,8302830 | $-21-21 | -1%-1 | Industrial machinery |
| International Business Machines | $500500 | $-342-342 | -68%-68 | Computers, office equip, software, data |
| JetBlue Airways | $219219 | $-60-60 | -27%-27 | Transportation |
| Kinder Morgan | $1,7841784 | $-22-22 | -1%-1 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| MDU Resources | $314314.004 | $-16-16 | -5%-5 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| MGM Resorts International | $648648.268 | $-12-12 | -2%-2 | Miscellaneous services |
| Molson Coors | $1,3251325.1 | $-23-23 | -2%-2 | Food & beverages & tobacco |
| Netflix | $856856 | $-22-22 | -3%-3 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| Occidental Petroleum | $3,3793379 | $-23-23 | -1%-1 | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| Owens Corning | $405405 | $-10-10 | -2%-2 | Miscellaneous manufacturing |
| Penske Automotive Group | $393393.2 | $-16-16 | -4%-4 | Motor vehicles and parts |
| Performance Food Group | $192191.5 | $-9-9 | -4%-4 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| Pioneer Natural Resources | $1,2491249 | — — | — — | Oil, gas & pipelines |
| Pitney Bowes | $125125.471 | $-50-50 | -40%-40 | Computers, office equip, software, data |
| PPL | $1,1101110 | $-19-19 | -2%-2 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Principal Financial | $1,6411640.6 | $-49-49 | -3%-3 | Financial |
| Prudential Financial | $1,4401440 | $-346-346 | -24%-24 | Financial |
| Public Service Enterprise Group | $1,7721772 | $-97-97 | -5%-5 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| PulteGroup | $1,3401340.338 | $-44-44 | -3%-3 | Miscellaneous manufacturing |
| Realogy | $199199 | $-13-13 | -7%-7 | Miscellaneous services |
| Rockwell Collins | $719719 | $-16-16 | -2%-2 | Aerospace & defense |
| Ryder System | $350349.782 | $-23-23 | -7%-7 | Transportation |
| Salesforce.com | $800800 | — — | — — | Computers, office equip, software, data |
| SpartanNash | $4039.591 | $-2-2 | -4%-4 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| SPX | $6666.04861538 | $-5-5 | -8%-8 | Industrial machinery |
| Tech Data | $203202.797 | $-10-10 | -5%-5 | Retail & wholesale trade |
| Trinity Industries | $138137.5 | $-19-19 | -14%-14 | Miscellaneous manufacturing |
| UGI | $550550 | $-3-3 | 0%0 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| United States Steel | $432432 | $-40-40 | -9%-9 | Metals & metal products |
| Whirlpool | $717717 | $-70-70 | -10%-10 | Electronics, electrical equipment |
| Wisconsin Energy | $1,1391139.413924 | $-218-218 | -19%-19 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| Xcel Energy | $1,4341434 | $-34-34 | -2%-2 | Utilities, gas and electric |
| TOTAL, These Companies | $79,02579025.43254 | $-4-4.329 | -5%-5 |
