Cumulative burden of taxes

[Gr8bawana]

Elon Musk’s company avoided almost all federal income tax on over $12 billion of U.S. income over the past three years​

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Tesla, the company owned by a billionaire who briefly held a job seeking to cut federal government waste, received over $1.1 billion in federal income tax breaks from American taxpayers last year alone.

Tesla’s annual financial report, released this morning, shows the company enjoyed almost $5.7 billion of U.S. income in 2025—almost doubling the $2.98 billion the company enjoyed in 2024—on which it reports precisely zero current federal income tax.

Over the past three years, the Elon Musk-led company reported $12.58 billion of U.S. income on which its current federal tax was just $48 million. This means that over the past three years, Tesla paid just 0.4 percent of its U.S. profits in federal income taxes, which is another way of saying the company reported an effective federal income tax rate of 0.4 percent. This is a tiny fraction of the 21 percent tax rate profitable corporations are supposed to pay under the law.

 

[jpc01101]

Elon Musk’s company avoided almost all federal income tax on over $12 billion of U.S. income over the past three years​

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Tesla, the company owned by a billionaire who briefly held a job seeking to cut federal government waste, received over $1.1 billion in federal income tax breaks from American taxpayers last year alone.

Tesla’s annual financial report, released this morning, shows the company enjoyed almost $5.7 billion of U.S. income in 2025—almost doubling the $2.98 billion the company enjoyed in 2024—on which it reports precisely zero current federal income tax.

Over the past three years, the Elon Musk-led company reported $12.58 billion of U.S. income on which its current federal tax was just $48 million. This means that over the past three years, Tesla paid just 0.4 percent of its U.S. profits in federal income taxes, which is another way of saying the company reported an effective federal income tax rate of 0.4 percent. This is a tiny fraction of the 21 percent tax rate profitable corporations are supposed to pay under the law.

I think the saying goes something like "Don't hate the player, hate the game" and it's true. The game is terribly rigged.

 

[Big Fin]

View attachment 406051
Seems relevant. Note that expenditures exceed revenues by almost 40%.

Yup. So, folks need to be willing to pay 40% more for current services requested or accept less services. That would be a better way for people to understand the gap between demands for services and willingness to pay with their own money.

But, as many mentioned, matching those to ends of the equation is not the way to get votes. Thus you younger folks get the shaft.

 

[SAJ-99]

View attachment 406051
Seems relevant. Note that expenditures exceed revenues by almost 40%.

Needs context, as all numbers do. I could ask where you want to cut but that usually ends in a dead end road. We are sawing at bone.

Here are a couple of estimates for 2024. I'm curious on opinions.
Corporate income, we will sub with EBIT $4.5T, Taxes $530B so a tax rate of about 11.8%.
Individuals (this is a guesstimate, Avg weekly earn x 52 x 162m people) = $9.3T with $2.4T in individual income taxes. So about 25%.

Seem fair? Like I said, I want to be reincarnated as a corporation.

 

[mdhunter]

I was never a fan of VAT tax proposals but when everyone only feels the acceptable way to increase taxes is to increase them on the other guy, what is an option that will close the 40% for current services and stop the deficit from growing?

Also, the lack of political will to pass a balanced budget amendment is vomit worthy… Just my .02

 

[Forkyfinder]

Needs context, as all numbers do. I could ask where you want to cut but that usually ends in a dead end road. We are sawing at bone.

Here are a couple of estimates for 2024. I'm curious on opinions.
Corporate income, we will sub with EBIT $4.5T, Taxes $530B so a tax rate of about 11.8%.
Individuals (this is a guesstimate, Avg weekly earn x 52 x 162m people) = $9.3T with $2.4T in individual income taxes. So about 25%.

Seem fair? Like I said, I want to be reincarnated as a corporation.

Okay saj.

Quadruple corporate taxes - that seems like a potentially bad idea, but for the sake of argument - you realize thats not even enough to make the US break even?

Theres never enough of everyone elses money to keep up with unsustainable spending.

 

[jryoung]

Elon Musk’s company avoided almost all federal income tax on over $12 billion of U.S. income over the past three years​

---

Tesla, the company owned by a billionaire who briefly held a job seeking to cut federal government waste, received over $1.1 billion in federal income tax breaks from American taxpayers last year alone.

Tesla’s annual financial report, released this morning, shows the company enjoyed almost $5.7 billion of U.S. income in 2025—almost doubling the $2.98 billion the company enjoyed in 2024—on which it reports precisely zero current federal income tax.

Over the past three years, the Elon Musk-led company reported $12.58 billion of U.S. income on which its current federal tax was just $48 million. This means that over the past three years, Tesla paid just 0.4 percent of its U.S. profits in federal income taxes, which is another way of saying the company reported an effective federal income tax rate of 0.4 percent. This is a tiny fraction of the 21 percent tax rate profitable corporations are supposed to pay under the law.

I'm guessing that came from ITEP because it already doesn't reconcile with the Income Tax Footnote....then again most folks aren't going to be able to understand a rate rec.

 

[SAJ-99]

Quadruple corporate taxes - that seems like a potentially bad idea, but for the sake of argument - you realize thats not even enough to make the US break even?

But tt certainly would move in the right direction. Again, the chart is a great summary but a little incomplete. The difference in SS expenditures and Payroll revenues are paid out of the SS trust funds. It is a self-contained structure and should be taken out of total on both sides. Medicare has similar structure but is far more problematic given the number of retirees and size expenditures. Their unique structure make them need to be separated out of the chart. Yeah, we have a problem. It's as much of a revenue problem as an expenditure problem, but I'm all for attacking both sides. The upcoming Military budget jumps from $900B to$1500B with nothing to offset on revenue side other than "hopes and dreams" for GDP growth. But no one cares as long as they get theirs.

Someone made a post on another thread that the American people wanted a politician that was honest with them. It made me laugh.

 

[SAJ-99]

Okay saj.

Quadruple corporate taxes - that seems like a potentially bad idea, but for the sake of argument - you realize thats not even enough to make the US break even?

Theres never enough of everyone elses money to keep up with unsustainable spending.

And I want to assure you have similar debates with people who want to "tax the millionaires to pay for X or Y". That is equally silly as cutting "reckless wasteful spending" that doesn't seem to exist. Everyone wants to pick their problem and pick the solution. To Noharleyyet's point, it's really not complicated, but it is painful.

 

[Handlebar]

Increasing the taxes on corporations which will be passed on to consumers is a good thing but increasing tariffs which will be passed on to the consumer is a bad thing.

 

[jryoung]

Increasing the taxes on corporations which will be passed on to consumers is a good thing but increasing tariffs which will be passed on to the consumer is a bad thing.

#*^@#* the consumer, reward the shareholder.

 

[David Gough]

I'm guessing that came from ITEP because it already doesn't reconcile with the Income Tax Footnote....then again most folks aren't going to be able to understand a rate rec.

Marginal bracket vs. average rate does not compute with many clients.

 

[David Gough]

Finished filing and then I made a mistake today and added up all the taxes (Federal/State/Local) we paid in 2025. It was eye opening and eye watering. It virtually eliminated the point of my wife working, and cost us twice as much in a year as it is costing to pay a year of our daughters private college tuition. We live in a very high cost state. Between the two of us (she is a teacher, I work in the environmental / land use field (traditionally not the highest paying jobs compared to all the ppl in finance, pharma, law, and medicine around here) we are "fortunate" to make enough money to not qualify for virtually any govt tax break, federal tuition assistance, or subsidy of any kind, but the joke's on us. Makes us feel we'd be better off losing one of our jobs to put us back in a more advantageous bracket. I am so discouraged, but it explains so much about why it seems we work so hard but only feel we are falling a little further behind each year. Just venting. Wow. Happy tax filing week to all.

Between the debt, interest expense, and SSI insolvency it will get worse before it gets better.

Or the dollar will become worthless.

Back to tax season (part 1).

 

[Gerald Martin]

I was in a relatively good mood at the end of a Monday work day until I read this thread. Thanks guys….

 

[jimh406]

The govts work just like personal budgets. Govts won't have enough money until they stop spending as much. It's not how much they collect ... it's how much they spend that's the problem.

It seems obvious that the NGOs are the first place to cut. Next, cut the noncitizen entitlements.

 

[Nick87]

Crazy between taxes and daycare you can be financially ahead by not working

Idk if we could do it financially without my wife working. We'll, thats not true. We could somehow but it would be stressful and a LOT less enjoyable to say the least. Her job pays the mortgage and escrow. She works every weekend so we only have to have one of my parents watch them 1 day a week when I'm working Saturdays (may through Nov). I bitch about it constantly because neither of us really ever get a day off without having the kids by ourselves. But in reality we are extremely fortunate that my kids spend zero time with a stranger raising them daycare or school, now that she homeschools them. I dont know that you can really put a price on that. Or find another woman to raise and homeschool 3 kids everyday then work on her only two days "off" and never complain. I have to remind myself sometimes how good I have it in that regard.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

How much could honest responsive/responsible governance save...

Obscene amounts.

 

[jryoung]

I was in a relatively good mood at the end of a Monday work day until I read this thread. Thanks guys….

I ate a tacos tonight for dinner, it made me cheer up.