Small Business Owners Tired of Unfair Corporate Tax Loopholes


Corporate tax loopholes are the most popular method big corporations use to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.Usually abused by huge multi-million dollar companies, tax loopholes allow the big guys to avoid paying taxes, while regular citizens and small business owners have to.

Currently, the U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%, and many businesses pay that rate. But because of loopholes, many U.S.-based multinational companies pay far less. Usually Republicans have been in favor of tax loopholes, in the belief that the money will trickle down into the market. However, a new poll of small business owners shows strong bipartisan opposition to these tax breaks.

The survey, released today by the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) and the Main Street Alliance (MSA), shows small business owners oppose the current system for taxing U.S. multinational corporations.

Small business owners strongly support closing overseas corporate tax loopholes and strongly oppose the idea of a territorial tax system. Small business owners want to end deferral, so that US multinational corporations will pay taxes on foreign earnings after being given credit for foreign taxes paid. They also favor replacing the current system of basing taxes on where profit is reported to a system which apportions taxes according to where sales are made, where employees work and where physical assets are located.

Key findings in the study include:

  • (85%) of small business owners oppose a territorial tax system, which would permanently exempt offshore profits from U.S. taxation.
  • 76% support closing overseas tax loopholes by implementing a combined reporting system, which would limit the ability of corporations to avoid taxes by shifting profits offshore.
  • 64% support ending deferral, a provision in the current tax code that allows corporations to indefinitely defer payment of U.S. taxes on profits made or shifted offshore.
  • By a margin of more than two to one, small business owners prefer to close corporate tax loopholes rather than cut government spending.

These poll results represent findings from a scientific national phone survey of 515 owners of small businesses (with 2 to 99 employees. The nationwide live phone survey was conducted between March 14-25, 2013


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