'Green Energy' Helps Bring GE Taxes to Zero

While GE spent millions to elect President Obama and pushing fiscally destructive policies like cap & trade on the American taxpayer, the company’s bloated tax department of 975 employees has been busy making sure it’s own tax bill on $14 billion of revenues less than ZERO. That’s right, GE actually claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

It’s interesting to note that while Ronald Reagan cracked down on GE in the mid-1980s–he overhauled the tax system after learning that G.E. was among dozens of corporations that had used accounting gamesmanship to avoid paying any taxes–President Obama has taken the opposite approach. CEO Immelt and Obama have appeared joined at the hip of late, with the President even appointing him chairman of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Among the actions Immelt has taken over the years to preserve GE’s preferential tax treatment, was to bribe Charles B. Rangel in 2008 (then Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee) with a $30 million “donation” to New York City schools, including $11 million to benefit various schools in Mr. Rangel’s district.

It’s all here in this devastating indictment of GE by NY Times reporter David Kocieniewski.