Seven CEOs Made More Than Their Companies Paid in Taxes

According to a paper by author Scott Klinger:

All seven of these firms were highly profitable, collectively reporting more than $74 billion in U.S. pre-tax profits. However, they received a combined total of $1.9 billion in refunds from the IRS, giving them an effective tax rate of negative 2.5 percent.

And:

The seven CEOs leading these tax-dodging corporations were paid $17.3 million on average in 2013. Boeing and Ford Motors both paid their CEOs more than $23 million last year while receiving large tax refunds.

Included on the list were Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), W. James McNerney Jr. of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), John Watson of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Michael Corbat of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Lowell McAdam of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Daniel Ackerson of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM)

The report points out that Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and GM were part of some government bailout during the financial crisis and recession.

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The study’s author commented:

The report, Fleecing Uncle Sam, also looks at the 100 highest-paid CEOs in 2013, finding that 29 received more in pay than their company paid in federal income taxes — up from 25 out of the top 100 in our 2010 and 2011 surveys. These 29 companies operate 237 subsidiaries in tax havens

It should be pointed out that the think tank is considered relatively liberal and therefore its conclusions are likely to be considered anti-business in general. However, the figures about CEO pay are hard to challenge.

Such reports become a public relations nightmare for the companies that have to address the charges well beyond the day or week that the report was issued.