Tax-Dodging Wal-Mart Holds Another Food Drive for Its Impoverished Workers

[freebuddy]

Tax-Dodging Wal-Mart Holds Another Food Drive for Its Impoverished Workers

November 20, 2014

by Joshua Holland

Around this time last year, the story of a Canton, Ohio, Wal-Mart running a food drive to help its impoverished associates get through the holidays became the symbol of how hard it is to make ends meet working for the countrys largest private employer.

Today, Making Change at Wal-Mart, a labor-backed group working to expose the mega-retailers exploitative labor practices, posted this on its Facebook page:

Despite a massive backlash last year when news broke that Walmart was holding an in-store canned food drive asking workers to donate to one another to keep from going hungry, Walmart hasnt changed its ways. An Oklahoma Walmart is running another food drive this year!

A spokeperson for the group told BillMoyers.com via email that the picture was taken recently by an employee who wished to remain anonymous. The location of the food bin was identified as the Wal-Mart superstore designated by the company as #3430 and located on NE 23rd Road in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, as Wal-Marts low-wage workers are helping each other out with food donations, the Waltons themselves, whose combined wealth is equal to that of the bottom 42 percent of American households, have contributed almost none of their personal fortune to their familys charitable foundation, according to an analysis of 23 years of tax returns conducted earlier this year by Making Change at Wal-Mart.

According to the report, the Waltons use their familys foundation primarily to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Tax avoidance appears to be a family passion. A study released today by Americans for Tax Fairness finds that over the past five years, Wal-Mart, Inc., has used a variety of tax loopholes to cut its tax bill by an average of $1 billion per year.

Whats more, Wal-Mart is spending heavily to change the tax code so the company can cut what it pays Uncle Sam by another $720 million per year:

Walmart is working to influence tax legislation in three ways through lobbying, campaign contributions and issue advocacy via major corporate coalitions. Walmart employs 74 lobbyists 80 percent of whom have previously served in government and it has spent $32.6 million lobbying on tax and other issues over the past five years. Tax issues have been by far Walmarts top lobbying focus.

The study reports that the company is also sheltering $21.4 billion in profits offshore profits that, as tax journalist David Cay Johnston explained recently, represent a nice little profit center for multinationals like Wal-Mart, courtesy of the American government.

But while the company doesnt like paying taxes, its shareholders, including the Walton family, enjoy having their profits subsidized by others who dont enjoy armies of accountants working full time to cut their tax bills. According to the Americans for Tax Fairness study, Joe and Jane Taxpayer pick up $6.2 billion per year for Wal-Marts underpaid workers in the form of public benefits food stamps, Medicaid and other assistance for the poor.

As weve said before, its low-wage employers like Wal-Mart that represent the real welfare queens in this country. Its the Walton heirs winners of the childbirth lottery and their fellow investors who live in luxury on the taxpayers dime.

http://billmoyers.com/2014/11/20/walmart/

[drummer4now]

Capitalism and Greed..

[Rounoush]

There's a Seinfeld clip for everything.

[rb4u]

[jdatb]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/23/new-york-times-columnist-couldnt-have-expected-walmarts-epic-response-to-hit-piece-hope-this-helps/

New York Times columnist Timothy Egan got an unexpected response from Walmart after he attempted to smear the corporation in a “wildly inaccurate” article.
David Tovar, Walmart’s VP of corporate communications, edited Egan’s piece like a high school English teacher, noting all the errors in red.
“Thanks for sharing your first draft. Below are a few thoughts to ensure something inaccurate doesn’t get published,” Tovar wrote. “Hope this helps.”
After pointing out that Walmart is the “largest tax payer in America” that has hired more than 42,000 veterans this year and pays the average full-time associate $12.91 an hour, the corporation then provided a “better idea for a piece.”
“Could focus on bringing back U.S. manufacturing (Walmart is buying $250 billion in US products over 10 years) and expanding education, training and workforce development programs. i.e. things that will make a bigger difference, not just focusing on starting wages.”
Read the whole thing here.

[Violator]

I hate that average wage jargon that companies always use.I watched a documentary on walmart and the some girl was payed like 9.50 an hour as a pharmacy supervisor that wage seems stupidly low but thats retail for u.Hate how walmart runs but we all still shop they're

[freebuddy]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/23/new-york-times-columnist-couldnt-have-expected-walmarts-epic-response-to-hit-piece-hope-this-helps/

No evidence of being a "big taxpayer" there.

[Kragar]

No evidence of being a "big taxpayer" there.

I'm no fan of Wal-Mart (shopped there twice in 20 years, once with a gift card), but was there any evidence in the article being questioned that they were a net drain? Your OP claims that they save taxes by putting profits off-shore, but that doesn't mean they don't pay any taxes.

(I would have thought you would be praising them for their higher-than-minimum wages being paid to the average associate. But I guess that's just a distraction.)

The bigger question here should be: who put the loopholes in the tax code in the first place? I don't know, but I am willing to bet it was supported by both side of the aisle at various times. The tax code is waaayyyyy too confusing, and needs to be dismantled.

But if they did that, then what would the government do with all the guns the IRS has, after they get to cut their staff down to almost nothing?

On the Wal-mart side of things, it is impressive that they are moving towards more manufacturing here. Not sure how much that will get them away from their made-in-China inventory, but it's a start. Assuming it wasn't just a weak marketing ploy.

[kurtis]

You can usually find cheaper products online with free shipping then Walmart.

[freebuddy]

I'm no fan of Wal-Mart (shopped there twice in 20 years, once with a gift card), but was there any evidence in the article being questioned that they were a net drain? Your OP claims that they save taxes by putting profits off-shore, but that doesn't mean they don't pay any taxes.

(I would have thought you would be praising them for their higher-than-minimum wages being paid to the average associate. But I guess that's just a distraction.)

The bigger question here should be: who put the loopholes in the tax code in the first place? I don't know, but I am willing to bet it was supported by both side of the aisle at various times. The tax code is waaayyyyy too confusing, and needs to be dismantled.

But if they did that, then what would the government do with all the guns the IRS has, after they get to cut their staff down to almost nothing?

On the Wal-mart side of things, it is impressive that they are moving towards more manufacturing here. Not sure how much that will get them away from their made-in-China inventory, but it's a start. Assuming it wasn't just a weak marketing ploy.

If theyre earning "higher than minimum wage", how come the American taxpayer has to subsidize their employees billions of dollars in welfare benefits? Why are there still stores collecting food for their OWN employees. With that army of lobbyists Walmart has, you think they might be able to get themselves favorable tax breaks? Buying more American made stuff is most likely a marketing ploy.

[freebuddy]

[Brick Tamland]

Said one person ever

[freebuddy]

Said one person ever

Just the longest servicing U.S. President ever.

[freebuddy]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_-SMetMkcVI&feature=youtu.be

[freebuddy]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackfridayprotests.org%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2Fbffacebook.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblackfridayprotests.org%2Factions&h=630&w=1200&tbnid=uT3hWIA0srZr5M%3A&zoom=1&docid=xRNAINEppz3yJM&ei=_sB1VOyXMvSPsQSkloGgAw&tbm=isch&client=ms-android-sprint-mvno-us&ved=0CCcQMygIMAg&iact=rc&uact=3&page=2&start=6&ndsp=9

[Mustapha]

I never understood why Americans are against extended social services (public healthcare, pensions,etc) This stuff can only help the poorest and most destitute.

If they really, truly believe that only the rich should have access to proper healthcare, those people are among the most stupid on the planet.

[Guest]

I never understood why Americans are against extended social services (public healthcare, pensions,etc) This stuff can only help the poorest and most destitute.

If they really, truly believe that only the rich should have access to proper healthcare, those people are among the most stupid on the planet.

Many fools believe that the poor are there by choice. Through hard work etc all can be prosperous. This ideology is of course ridiculous and unsustainable. Nonetheless, because these people believe such stupid notions, they see the poor and destitute as receiving free handouts.

[RRypien37]

Many fools believe that the poor are there by choice. Through hard work etc all can be prosperous. This ideology is of course ridiculous and unsustainable. Nonetheless, because these people believe such stupid notions, they see the poor and destitute as receiving free handouts.

Do you believe that for the middle class too?

Let me guess, you're broke?

[freebuddy]

Do you believe that for the middle class too?

Let me guess, you're broke?

Are you broke, or do you just like to defend the ultra rich?

[Kragar]

I never understood why Americans are against extended social services (public healthcare, pensions,etc) This stuff can only help the poorest and most destitute.

If they really, truly believe that only the rich should have access to proper healthcare, those people are among the most stupid on the planet.

If the government is going to give someone something, they have to take from someone else to get it, and it's not just the ultra-rich that pay for it.

Have you ever thought about how the Americans have such a large budget for the military that Canada does not have, and yet income taxes are higher in Canada? Also, there is no national sales tax down here like there is in Canada.

One big reason: health care. And yet with universal health care in Canada, there are people that need to go elsewhere (like the US) to be treated in a timely manner. Having to wait months for surgery that is preventing someone from working is crap.

We had proper health care here. The issue with accessibillity had to do with the "uninsurable", and not with the ability to pay. The Affordable Care Act did not bring down the cost oh health care down here. It made health care accessible to everyone, but not everyone is paying less. And not all those paying more are the rich.

So, instead of fixing the problem as the people saw it (covering uninsurables), the Democrats intervened on nearly every facet of health care. And mass government intervention in the market is never a good thing.