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Old 04-17-2010, 11:02 AM   #16
lcjjdnh
College Prospect
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NJ
In the abstract, the idea of taxing corporations is somewhat odd--by taxing this legal entity, you're really just imposing a double-taxation on the shareholders of the company (which, in large part, are mutual funds and pension funds investment retirement money for regular people). After the money gets taxed when it comes into the corporation, it once again gets taxed when it is passed on to shareholders. And, in practice, it seems like the complex tax laws only create lots of wealth for accountants and attorneys that figure out ways to avoid paying the taxes.

That said, I'm not sure the alternative of a lower tax rate is better. If we were to lower corporate tax rates, the savings won't necessarily accrue to shareholders or the bulk of employees--rather, the managers (already paid salaries far beyond their value) will be in place to capture it.

Also, I'd caution against any concerns corporate taxation squelches the "entrepreneurial spirit". Most small businesses are going to be arranged in structures so that they don't pay a corporate income tax--the owners simply report the income on their own tax returns. Thus, the S-Corporation (which allows for up to 100 shareholders), for instance, avoids the problems of "double taxation." Changing corporate tax law probably wouldn't have an impact on many entrepreneurs--the individual income tax level is what matters to them. The same is true for businesses set-up as partnerships.
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