REPORT: Corporations Spending The Most On Lobbying See Their Tax Rates Drop

Two-thirds of the largest 200 U.S. corporations lobbied on at least one tax bill between 2007 and 2010, and here’s why: the majority of them ended up paying lower taxes in 2010.

The eight major corporations that spent the most on lobbying, for a total $540 million, all saw their tax rates decrease. According to a Sunlight Foundation report, the odds that those companies saw lower rates merely by chance is less than 1 in 100. The odds that six of those corporations paid seven percentage points less is even lower, at only 1 in 100,000.

Instead, the reduction was likely a result of their presence in Washington, lobbying for tax giveaways.

Company	2007-2010 decline	2007 rate	2010 rate	2007- 2009 lobbying (in millions)	Estimated tax reduction (in millions)
Exxon Mobil	-1.1%	41.8%	40.7%	$81.92	-$565.32
Verizon Communications	-7.9%	27.4%	19.4%	$77.58	-$1,005.51
General Electric	-7.6%	15.0%	7.4%	$73.17	-$1,082.70
At&T	-40.4%	34.0%	-6.4%	$70.96	-$7,359.95
Altria	-1.6%	28.9%	27.4%	$63.31	-$160.66
Amgen	-7.1%	20.1%	13.0%	$58.33	-$377.16
Northrop Grumman	-11.4%	32.9%	21.5%	$57.56	-$296.08
Boeing	-7.1%	33.7%	26.5%	$56.99	-$321.5
Median among 200 companies	-0.6%	31.8%	31.6%	$5.48	-$13.08

These companies are notorious for tax dodging, like ExxonMobil, which spent the most on lobbying and paid $565 million less in taxes. AT&T received the greatest return on lobbying, paying $7.3 billion less. Both of these companies spent even more on lobbying in 2011, with Exxon spending up by $300,000 and AT&T’s up $4,834,922. Exxon’s 2011 tax rate decreased from 17.6 to 13 percent in 2011.

The Huffington Post also pointed to a 2011 study finding that the 280 most profitable corporations paid an average 18.5 percent tax rate, benefiting from industry-specific tax breaks, loopholes and offshore tax shelters.