Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole Awards Tax Dodgers Chrysler, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark and International Paper

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole released an Olympic-themed animated video featuring the CEO's of Chrysler, General Motors, Kimberly-Clarke and International Paper participating on behalf of their companies in the "Tax Dodger Dash".  The Dash is a track event where participants face three challenges during the race: tax hurdles, where instead of jumping over the hurdles, the CEO's avoid the hurdles altogether and run around them; tax loopholes, where they jump into loopholes on the track that allow them to continue the race; and finally, an opportunity to steal as much money as they can from the state of CA, which is standing on the track prior to the finish line.  At the conclusion of the video, the medal ceremony takes place, where the CEOs are presented with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for their performance.  The video can be seen here: http://youtu.be/4PFNfB_0kpg

Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole said in a statement, "Chrysler, GM, Kimberly-Clark and International Paper are all deserving of a Gold Medal when it comes to Olympic-sized hypocrisy, as they were for closing the loophole on out-of-state companies before they were against it.  Even if this hypocrisy contest was being scored by the Russian gymnastic judges, there is no getting around the fact that these four companies want a level playing field in their home states, but oppose it when it is good for California jobs and California public schools.  Our campaign will continue to inform taxpayers, consumers and government officials about the anti-California conduct of the Big Four Tax Dodgers so that the government and public can make decisions about whether they should continue to do business with these out of state companies."

The campaign is employing sophisticated online and social media tools to specifically target approximately 50,000 new car buyers, including those potentially considering GM and Chrysler, with a goal of informing California consumers about how these companies exploit and protect tax loopholes in California at the expense of California jobs and California schools. California is the largest consumer market in the country and the campaign wants consumers to be aware of the companies that are acting adverse to the best interest of California taxpayers before making a decision to buy one of their products.

The video was produced by Portal A, a creative studio based in San Francisco and Los Angeles that produces and distributes viral content built for the web. In a recent front-page profile, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "the twenty-something principals are in growing demand nationally to create viral political ads" and Wired Magazine wrote that "after a string of web hits, Portal A, more than any other creative firm, has cracked the code of viral video." More of their work, including the Ed Lee is 2 Legit 2 Quit spot hailed by the Washington Post's EJ Dionne as "the most delightful and adventurous political ad of the year", can be found at www.portal-a.com.

Background on the Corporate Tax Loophole in California

The corporate tax loophole in California, which was created in the dead of the night in a backroom Sacramento deal with no debate or disclosure in 2009, is specifically designed so that out-of-state companies can dodge taxes, putting them at a competitive advantage over California companies. The loophole, which gives companies an option of calculating their income based on a mixture of payroll, property, and sales, gives multi-state corporations an incentive to keep jobs and investment in other states so that they can reduce their taxes in California. Basically, the fewer Californians out-of-state-companies employ, the less they pay in taxes.

To fix the loophole, which is costing California $1 billion in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs, many in California want to require out-of-state companies to pay taxes based on one factor -- their sales in California -- instead of giving them a choice between sales, property, and payroll. The "Mandatory Single Sales Factor" would prohibit multi-state companies from reaping profits on their sales in California while dodging their fair share of California state taxes – and it would force out-of-state companies to pay the same as in state corporations. By reducing the incentive to locate new jobs out of state, the Legislative Analyst's Office predicts that the mandatory single sales factor will add $1 billion in revenues and create tens of thousands of jobs in California.

The states of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin have all adopted a mandatory single sales factor approach – without a loophole – to provide an incentive to companies to invest in their states. Only California and one other state – Missouri – have this glaring loophole that allows big corporations to pick and choose the way they pay their taxes. In California, four companies have taken the lead to lobby successfully to keep the corporate tax loophole alive: Chrysler, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark and International Paper. These companies, which sell tens of millions of dollars in products to the state, are dodging millions in taxes and putting California companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Paid for by Yes on 39 – Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole. Major Funding by Thomas F. Steyer and Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs, sponsored by environmental organizations and business for clean energy and jobs

Contact: Lisa Cohen, 310-395-2544
[email protected]  

SOURCE Yes on 39 - Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole