SAY NO TO CUTS, END CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE
Washington’s proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. Obama seeks to trim $1.1 trillion from the budget in the next ten years by cutting or eliminating over 200 federal programs, many dedicated to social services and education. For instance, it c
uts in half funding to subsidize heating for low-income Americans; limits an expansion of the Pell grant program for students; and decreases Environmental Protection Agency funding by over 12%. Meanwhile, Republicans are using their new House majority to slash spending even more brutally. The GOP has made it clear that they are bent on raiding funds for Social Security, Medicare, education; determined to kill health care reform; and gut needed investments in infrastructure, climate change and job creation, at a time when America needs it most. These cuts will come on top of very painful austerity measures made at the state-level across our nation–-worth hundreds of billions--since the recession began. In short, budget cuts demonstrate that Washington has abandoned ordinary Americans. But there IS an alternative: Make corporate tax avoiders pay. Enjoying record profits and taxpayer-funded bailouts as the economy slowly recovers from a financial crisis, nearly two-thirds of US corporations don't pay any income taxes, instead opting to abuse tax loopholes and offshore tax havens. According to this study from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations that operate in the US exploit corporate tax havens. Since 2009, America’s most profitable companies such as ExxonMobil, General Electric, Bank of America and Citigroup all paid a grand total of $0 in federal income taxes to Uncle Sam. Tax havens alone account for up to $1 trillion in tax revenue lost every decade, money that could be invested in K-12 education, colleges, public health, job creation and hundreds of other worthy public programs. If corporations profit here, shouldn't they pay here? It’s time for ordinary Americans to fight back and demand an end to the corporate tax avoidance. This is an approachable protest all in good humor and respect for all. If you are willing to help with planning, send an email to [email protected]
Follow Uncut Orlando on Twitter. See note titled "Orlando Locations with Saturday business hours" to find the location nearest you. All protesters: please see http://www.usuncut.org/howto for vital information to prepare, including the ACLU's "Know your rights: For Civil Disobedience" manual, 5 Things to do Before the End of Friday, and many other valuable Non-Violent Direct Action Tools. US Uncut believes in the right of all Americans to hold peaceful assembly. As such, we condemn any acts of violence or destruction of property. We welcome any presence of law enforcement in the interest of peacekeeping and dutifully commit to respect and abide by the requests of any officer acting in the line of duty. After all, our fight is against the loss of invaluable public services such as those provided by our police departments just so that Bank of America can increase profits. Media inquiries: [email protected]
***Thank you to US Uncut Boston for much of the above information
