General Electric Wants To Pay Higher Taxes

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- General Electric, (GE) says it wants to pay higher taxes and close loopholes. Since I was afraid you might not believe me, I got an email from a company spokesman to prove it.

"Like most Americans, GE would prefer a simpler tax code and we support a lower statutory corporate tax rate, closing loopholes and adoption of territorial tax system even if it means higher taxes for companies like GE," reads the message in my inbox from GE spokesman Seth Martin.

Despite striking a deal over the budget Tuesday night, Congress is still expected to battle over corporate tax reform ahead of the confrontation over the federal borrowing limit, better known as the debt ceiling. A showdown is expected to occur in two months time, when Congress will have to increase the limit or risk a U.S. default.

As a champion of loophole exploitation and tax evasion, General Electric will take a keen interest in shaping the debate over corporate tax reform. So when GE says it wants to simplify things and maybe even pay higher taxes, it behooves us to ask--uh--what's the catch there, GE?

The catch is that GE is willing to risk paying just a bit more so it can stop asking Congress for a favor every couple of years and risk being turned down.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt told Charlie Rose last month he believes the plan known as Simpson-Bowles is "a great starting point," for tax reform.

That plan would reduce the maximum corporate tax rate, known as the "statutory" rate, to 29% from its current 35% level. It would also adopt a "territorial" tax system, meaning companies would not pay U.S. taxes on profits earned abroad.

One problem with this plan, argues Robert McIntyre, Director of Citizens for Tax Justice, is that GE is especially adept at moving U.S. profits overseas.

"It's money they make in the United States but they claim it's foreign," by using "arcane provisions in the tax code," McIntyre says.

GE saved $8.8 billion on "lower-taxed global operations," from 2009-2011, according to its latest 10-K. The company also made a decision in 2009 "to indefinitely reinvest prior-year earnings outside the U.S.," according to the 10-K.

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