(Original Post)
By Josh Long
Verizon Communications is continuing to face allegations that it's not paying its fair share of taxes despite ranking as one of the largest and most profitable companies in America.
A report released today – and prepared by Citizens for Tax Justice and Good Jobs First – claims that Verizon received federal tax subsidies of $12.3 billion between 2008 and 2011 and paid an effective federal tax rate of negative 2.9 percent.
"All in all, Verizon is one of the country's most aggressive corporate tax dodgers," claims the report, "Unpaid Bills: How Verizon Shortchanges Government Through Tax Dodging and Subsidies."
New York-based Verizon asserts the report like a similar one released earlier this month is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
"This is a rehash of the same inaccurate and politically motivated statements that union-orchestrated front groups like the CTJ have been making for some time. The fact is, Verizon fully complies with all tax laws and pays its fair share of taxes," Robert Varettoni, a Verizon spokesman, told us. "As stated in our 10Ks, Verizon has paid more than $7.5 billion over the past five years in state and federal income taxes alone. This amount does not include other taxes, such as property taxes, taxes on gross receipts, payroll taxes and right-of-way fees."
A Biased Agenda?
Representatives of Verizon also reiterate the company has paid $1.79 billion in taxes on earnings of $5.25 billion over the 2008-2010 period. And in a letter this summer addressed to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Verizon Chief Communications Officer Peter Thonis wrote that the company had a federal tax liability of $2.2 billion last year and "paid $430 million in state and federal taxes, net of refunds."
"Deferred taxes – resulting from the bonus depreciation provision enacted by President Bush in 2008 and extended by President Obama through 2012 – are a main reason for the timing difference between our federal tax obligations and our federal tax payments," Thonis explained.
Verizon reps also maintain that the recent tax reports are clearly biased at a time when Verizon is negotiating with the unions – the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – over a new contract that would cover about 45,000 employees and replace an agreement that expired over the summer. Eight of the 13 board members with Citizens for Tax Justice are executives in national unions, said Varettoni, including CWA President Larry Cohen.
Verizon Dodging Taxes?
But the CTJ and Good Jobs First report portrays the telecommunications giant as a master in the art of dodging state and federal taxes and comes on the heels of an earlier report this month that claims Verizon paid no federal income taxes in 2009 and 2010.