Nike has £4.1 billion profits over the last three years, but haven’t paid any dime in federal income for its earnings, according to reports by the New York Times.
Nike last three years
Profit: $8.5 billion
Federal taxes paid: $0
Laid off thousands of employees
Founder Phil Knight: got $24.7 billion richer— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 7, 2021
The publication revealed that the swoosh brand was among the companies that were able to evade federal income tax legally for the last three years, even though the brand made £4.1 billion in that time frame combined according to data collected by the Institute on Taxation and economic policy.
The publication also indicated that the Tax Reform Plan that was passed in 2017 by the Republican led Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump, was one of the driving factors that helped top companies minimise their tax bill as it reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. In some cases, many also employed a range of legal deductions and exemptions further reducing their bill.
In addition, a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill known as the CARES Act was passed last year by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in an effort to assist businesses and families in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation temporarily allowed businesses to use their losses in 2020 to offset profits earned in previous years, according to the institute.
U.S Bernie Sanders also had to share his thoughts regarding the situation:
If you paid $120 for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, you paid more to Nike than it paid in federal income taxes over the past 3 years, while it made $4.1 billion in profits and Nike's founder, Phil Knight, became over $23 billion richer. Yes. We must #TaxTheRich.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 2, 2021
