This Oct. 26, 2006, file photo shows an Exxon logo at a gas station in Dallas. Exxon Mobil paid just 2 percent of its earnings as taxes to the federal government last year, according to the site NerdWallet. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
While some of America's biggest corporations may complain that they pay too much in taxes, a recent analysis shows that many are actually getting off pretty easy.
Some of these companies paid more than 9 percent -- JPMorgan earned $26.7 billion in 2011, for example, and paid $3.7 billion of it, or 14 percent, to the federal government -- and some paid less, like Exxon Mobil, which only sent 2 percent of its $73.3 billion earnings to the IRS.
But the 10 companies all paid much less than the nominal corporate tax rate of 35 percent -- a number that investor and tax-the-rich advocate Warren Buffett has dismissed as "a myth," but one that presidential front-runners Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both proposed to lower.
The effective corporate tax rate has been on its way down for decades, recently hitting a 40-year low even as corporate profits have reached an all-time high. Many of the companies that have seen their tax rates fall in recent years -- including Exxon Mobil, Verizon, General Electric and AT&T -- are among the biggest spenders when it comes to lobbying, according to a recent analysis by the Sunlight Foundation.
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Taxes Of The Ten Most Profitable Companies
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Pre-tax earnings: $20.1 Billion
Tax Provision: $5.7 Billion (29%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $1.0 Billion (5%)
GE paid $1.0 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $1.5 billion. It paid $4.7 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $21.0 Billion
Tax Provision: $5.1 Billion (25%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $0.268 Billion (1%)
IBM paid $268 million to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $909 million. It paid $429 million to state and local government, $3.2 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $23.0 Billion
Tax Provision: $10.5 Billion (46%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $1.9 Billion (8%)
ConocoPhillips paid $1.9 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $943 million. It paid $413 million to state and local government, $7.1 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $23.7 Billion
Tax Provision: $7.4 Billion (31%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $3.4 Billion (14%)
Wells Fargo paid $3.4 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $3.1 billion. It paid $468 million to state and local government, $52 million to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $24.4 Billion
Tax Provision: $7.9 Billion (33%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $4.6 Billion (19%)
Wal-Mart paid $4.6 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $1.4 billion. It paid $743 million to state and local government, $1.4 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $26.7 Billion
Tax Provision: $7.8 Billion (29%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $3.7 Billion (14%)
JPMorgan paid $3.7 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $2.1 billion. It paid $1.2 billion to state and local government, $1.2 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $28.1 Billion
Tax Provision: $4.9 Billion (18%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $3.1 Billion (11%)
Microsoft paid $3.1 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011. It paid $209 million to state and local government, $1.6 billion to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $34.2 Billion
Tax Provision: $8.3 Billion (24%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $3.9 Billion (11%)
Apple paid $3.9 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $3.0 billion. It paid $762 million to state and local government, $769 million to foreign governments.
Pre-tax earnings: $47.6 Billion
Tax Provision: $20.6 Billion (43%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $1.9 Billion (4%)
Chevron paid $1.9 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $877 million. It paid the majority of its taxes to foreign governments where it operates ($16.5 billion). Chevron also paid $596 million to state and local government.
Pre-tax earnings: $73.3 Billion
Tax Provision: $31.1 Billion (42%)
Actual Taxes Paid to U.S. federal government: $1.5 Billion (2%)
Exxon paid $1.5 billion to the U.S. federal government in 2011 and deferred paying an additional $1.6 billion. It paid the majority of its taxes to foreign governments where it operates ($28.8 billion).
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