GE Will Return 3.2 Billion Dollar Tax Refund to U.S. Treasury

As one of the most successful and powerful companies in the world, GE has taken an incredibly aggressive stance against paying corporate taxes to the United States government. Even though the company does billions of dollars of profitable business in the U.S., by using various tax loopholes and aggressive lobbying for legislation, GE paid no taxes in 2010. Instead, it received a refund of $3.2 billion from the federal government. If that seems absolutely insane, then you're paying attention.

When this information was published widely just a few weeks ago, the public outcry was loud and clear. With the nation facing grave debt concerns and a struggling economy, the fact that one of the nation's most powerful and profitable companies is actually getting a tax refund left most Americans flabbergasted. How can average Americans be expected to scrape and struggle to pay their taxes every year when companies bringing down tens of billions in annual profits are getting money back!.

How many small business owners suffocate every year under the overwhelming burdens of U.S. taxes and various other legal and insurance-related obligations? The answer is every single one of them. Those that manage to survive do so as a result of their ingenuity and ability to out-earn their tax requirements, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do.

Perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of the story is that GE is operating entirely within the framework of existing tax law. So, it's just playing by the rules, even though the company itself has a very big hand in making the rules. So, the problem is much deeper than simple tax avoidance. This is just one more area that needs to be cleaned up if the U.S. is going to make any progress toward reducing its incredible debt load.