Trillion Dollar Taxpayer

When America's biggest corporations make news for their taxes, it's usually for how little they pay. One recent study, for example, argues that 26 big corporations, including AT&T, Boeing, and Citigroup, paid their CEOs more than they paid Uncle Sam in federal income tax. (Comparisons like that might bring to mind an old Babe Ruth quote. In 1930, a reporter pointed out that Ruth's $80,000 salary was more than the President's -- to which the Babe replied "I know, but I had a better year . . .") Now, another corporate giant is making headlines for its taxes. And for once, the surprising news involves how much it paid, not how little.

Exxon and Mobil are iconic corporate names. Both began life as parts of John D. Rockefeller's original Standard Oil Company. Both were spun off in 1911 when the U.S. Supreme Court found Standard Oil guilty of illegally monopolizing the oil refining industry. ("Standard Oil Company of New Jersey" eventually grew into Exxon, while "Standard Oil Company of New York" morphed into Mobil.) When the two giants re-joined to create ExxonMobil in 1999, they instantly became the biggest publicly-traded corporation on earth. And since then, they've only gotten bigger, with a "market capitalization" (total value of outstanding publicly-traded shares) topped only by tech giants Apple and Microsoft, and the largest company on earth by revenue.

You would expect a corporation this size to pay a lot in taxes, right? And for once, you would be right. In fact, We constantly go to the well for smart tax strategies, so you don't have to. Call us if you want to put this sort of information to work for you! And remember, we're here for your friends, family, and colleagues, too.