GE may move its HQ after Connecticut passed state corporate tax increases.

[ou48A]

The odds are good that GE moves to Texas or Florida or someplace with better weather and a “more pro-business environment,"….

Oklahoma needs to move toward getting in this ball game and develop its own more pro-business environment. Maybe we don’t land a GE but would help our existing business grow and help with the relocations of smaller corporations to our state that could grow.

But this is what high taxes do….. They drive away the creation of wealth and all its benefits.

GE Stock Declining on Possible Headquarters Move After Connecticut Approves Tax Hike - TheStreet

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of General Electric (GE - Get Report) are falling 0.06% to $27.25 on reports that the company may explore moving its headquarters after Connecticut passed a budget that includes $1.2 billion in tax increases for some of the state's biggest corporations, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, lawmakers approved a $40 billion biannual budget, CNBC.com reported. The budget would increase business taxes by around $500 million over two years, Reuters pointed out. The measures, extend a 20% surcharge on corporate tax, and introduce a tax on group-wide income even if it originates out of state.

CEO Jeff Immelt sent an email yesterday to GE's Connecticut employees saying that he had asked the team to examine the company's options to relocate the headquarters to a state with a "more pro-business environment," according to Reuters. He claimed GE's state taxes have increased five times since 2011.

"I believe we should pay our fair share and that all of us should give back to our communities. But, we can compare Connecticut with other states where small and large businesses have a better environment to thrive and compete," Immelt wrote in the email, CNBC.com noted.

GE currently has about 5,700 employees in Connecticut.

[bchris02]

I agree. I wish OKC could be in the game for just a small percentage of these huge corporate relocations currently flooding into Dallas, Houston, and Austin. For a small market like OKC, just landing one or two of them would be a complete game changer.

[Anonymous.]

OKC needs to go full frontal and show GE all the goods. What could it hurt?

[Just the facts]

How much more pro-business can OKC possibly be?

[ou48A]

How much more pro-business can OKC possibly be?

Oklahoma could improve its corporate business environment by huge amounts…. and there is no doubt about this…….

On something like this Oklahoma really isn’t even competitive and IMHO it’s in large part due to the fact that we do not provide across the board funding for the higher education sciences at competitive levels…

Oklahoma has way too many duplicate and near worthless degree programs that should be shut down with the funding switched to degree programs such as engineering that corporations like GE want.

[dankrutka]

Oklahoma could improve its corporate business environment by huge amounts…. and there is no doubt about this…….

On something like this Oklahoma really isn’t even competitive and IMHO it’s in large part due to the fact that we do not provide across the board funding for the higher education sciences at competitive levels…

Oklahoma has way too many duplicate and near worthless degree programs that should be shut down with the funding switched to degree programs such as engineering that corporations like GE want.

Which degree programs should be shut down?

[Jersey Boss]

Press Release: General Electric's Ten Year Tax Rate Only Two Percent | Tax Justice Blog

General Electric Paid Only Two Percent Federal Income Tax Rate Over the Past Decade, Citizens for Tax Justice Analysis Finds; Actual Payments Were Probably Lower

Washington, DC – General Electric’s (GE) annual SEC 10-K filing for 2011 (filed February 24, 2012) reveals that the company paid at most two percent of its $80.2 billion in U.S. pretax profits in federal income taxes over the last 10 years.

Following revelations in March 2011 that GE paid no federal income taxes in 2010 and in fact enjoyed $3.3 billion in net tax benefits, GE told AFP (3/29/2011), “GE did not pay US federal taxes last year because we did not owe any.” But don’t worry, GE told Dow Jones Newswires (3/28/2011), “our 2011 tax rate is slated to return to more normal levels with GE Capital’s recovery.”

As it turns out, however, in 2011 GE’s effective federal income tax rate was only 11.3 percent, less than a third the official 35 percent corporate tax rate.

[Jersey Boss]

Imagination at Work? GE Once Again Pays Less Than 1% in Federal Taxes | Tax Justice Blog 3-3-2015

[Just the facts]

Is attracting a tax parasite the best thing for Oklahoma to be going after?

[Jersey Boss]

Cry me a river. It would be nice if these so called "corporations are people" paid in taxes what real people do.

[Just the facts]

Cry me a river. It would be nice if these so called "corporations are people" paid in taxes what real people do.

Maybe we could have no state income tax if corporations were paying the actual effective rate they should be paying.

[SoonerDave]

Cry me a river. It would be nice if these so called "corporations are people" paid in taxes what real people do.

Wonder how much $ in payroll, health insurance, and employee savings they inject into the economy?

Just curious.

[gopokes88]

Lol shares are falling .06% on news. That's just bad reporting.

You could put together a MASSIVE tax package to get GE and still make money.

GE has revenue of 147 billion. That's 14 times the size of Devon. It is a massive company. We'd probably have to build another terminal at the airport simply to handle their air traffic alone.

Good news is because the shareholders meeting was here okc is on their radar. If they don't come here it won't be because of a lack of exposure. If they moved to Dallas (most likely) or Austin (probably second option) they are still close and we could still continue to get more jobs here.

Bad news. They aren't going anywhere. It's a threat so Conn writes them a loophole and exempts them.

Oh and stop whining about GE taking every tax advantage they can find. (Unless of course you leave off some tax deductible items to pay a little more cause you're such a great guy). It's ultimately the governments responsibility to write the tax code, not GE's.

[Jersey Boss]

Calling out the hypocrisy of GE claiming they are over taxed is not whining. Sorry, I don't have a battery of lawyers exercising "free speech" for me by campaigning for tax breaks while whining , dining, and contributing to super pacs.

[gopokes88]

Calling out the hypocrisy of GE claiming they are over taxed is not whining. Sorry, I don't have a battery of lawyers exercising "free speech" for me by campaigning for tax breaks while whining , dining, and contributing to super pacs.

See what your doing right there, most would call that whining because you don't have the same advantages they do. You are holding the wrong people responsible. It's the government who writes the tax code, not GE. GE just takes advantage as I'm sure you do on your taxes. Sure the amounts are different but you have the exact same attitude they do. Since you aren't the tax morality god you don't get to decide when a corp or person has too much money and shouldn't use the tax code to their advantage. In a way you're the real hypocrite.

Of course you won't hold the government responsible for their complete incompetatance. that goes against the liberal dogma that the government has a clue what it's doing and a force good.

[Jersey Boss]

See what your doing right there, most would call that whining because you don't have the same advantages they do. You are holding the wrong people responsible. It's the government who writes the tax code, not GE. GE just takes advantage as I'm sure you do on your taxes. Sure the amounts are different but you have the exact same attitude they do. Since you aren't the tax morality god you don't get to decide when a corp or person has too much money and shouldn't use the tax code to their advantage. In a way you're the real hypocrite.

Of course you won't hold the government responsible for their complete incompetatance. that goes against the liberal dogma that the government has a clue what it's doing and a force good.

What you are doing is deftly changing the argument that GE is full of it when claiming to be overtaxed. When it is shown that GE is engaged in hypocritical whining about being overtaxed, you become a corporate apologist claiming "you would do it to if you had their advantages". What I would do or would not do, does not shield GE from being called out for a hypocritical argument. Instead of calling me a whiner, refute the claim that GE is in fact not avoiding taxes is in fact paying more than they should and as a consequence must flee their oppressors.

[Jim Kyle]

Instead of calling me a whiner, refute the claim that GE is in fact not avoiding taxes is in fact paying more than they should and as a consequence must flee their oppressors.

Their complaint is not about the tax rate they have been paying in the past; it's about a 20% surcharge added to all corporate taxes. To be fair, should such a surcharge be required, it should be on all taxes, not just those of corporations. "Corporate persons" should be treated the same as "organic persons" under the laws of the land; otherwise "equality" becomes more of a farce than is the current definition of personhood.

[gopokes88]

What you are doing is deftly changing the argument that GE is full of it when claiming to be overtaxed. When it is shown that GE is engaged in hypocritical whining about being overtaxed, you become a corporate apologist claiming "you would do it to if you had their advantages". What I would do or would not do, does not shield GE from being called out for a hypocritical argument. Instead of calling me a whiner, refute the claim that GE is in fact not avoiding taxes is in fact paying more than they should and as a consequence must flee their oppressors.

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

[zookeeper]

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

What did Connecticut do to cause the uproar? Exactly what you said they should do. Also, your views on business (while thinking others are naive) are, frankly, way off the mark. Research corporate charters and get back with me. You are young. A lot of your type thinking is spilling out of business schools from conservative universities. It's not capitalism at all, it's corporatocracy. And there's a big difference.

Wonder how much $ in payroll, health insurance, and employee savings they inject into the economy?

Just curious.

I don't know and it really doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with the issue of this thread. My charity work, all the spending I do during any given year, and what a great citizen I am has nothing to do with what I owe in taxes. Nothing. To confuse the issue is the only answer to this kind of corporate thuggery ala GE in Connecticut. Before someone says that "thuggery" is incendiary, etc. - nope - it's exactly what it is.

[mugofbeer]

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

What you say here is spot on. The fiduciary responsibility of a publicly traded company is to reasonably maximize profits. If CT raises their state tax rate to, say, 5%, while TX has 0%, then the board of directors must explore a move. Businesses aren't in business to pay taxes (research corporate charters). GoPokes is also spot on with his observation that CTs state budget is approximately 3x that of OK though our populations are comperable and despite OK being 14x the size of CT. While i wish OK spent more on higher quality education and roads, perhaps CT needs to do some significant cutting. Even when the Federal Government tries to raise corporate tax rates, corporations can simply move overseas. GE simply manages taxes the way individuals do. They minimize them.

[Just the facts]

This just in for those who think the State will make back the incentive money - GE is moving because they don't want to pay taxes. If they wanted to pay taxes they would just stay in CT.

[Snowman]

This just in for those who think the State will make back the incentive money - GE is moving because they don't want to pay taxes. If they wanted to pay taxes they would just stay in CT.

If I remember correctly they have been a perennial top five on ability to structure their business in such a way to pay practically no tax, I am guessing the issue may be the laws are now closing some loopholes previously available.

[David]

Even if GE as a company manages to work its tax situation very favorably for itself, I suspect that the amount of personal income tax and sales tax paid by their employees is not insignificant in the slightest. Not to mention the amount of income such a population would be spending in an area simply to live there.

[Snowman]

Even if GE as a company manages to work its tax situation very favorably for itself, I suspect that the amount of personal income tax and sales tax paid by their employees is not insignificant in the slightest. Not to mention the amount of income such a population would be spending in an area simply to live there.

It does, which is why most mid to large relocation get some level of subsidy, possibly even why they are letting the word get out to solicit offers. Though it is not uncommon for the employee numbers to come in well under (or at least the low end) of projected job numbers. Plus if governments are not careful some parts may either be relocated or departments downsized long before the subsidies end.

A recent article that comes to mind was a Seattle writer was talking about how poorly Seattle's recent deal with Boeing was, grudgingly praising some of our deals, I can not remember if he outright mentioned how some of our claw-back measures were but they certainly would have helped in parts of the worst part of their deal. I think our proximity to Texas kind of forced Oklahoma's hand on going in aggressively early on incentives and having done that learned some painful experiences on how to at least put in some reasonable protection measures for when deals go bad.

[mugofbeer]

Even if GE as a company manages to work its tax situation very favorably for itself, I suspect that the amount of personal income tax and sales tax paid by their employees is not insignificant in the slightest. Not to mention the amount of income such a population would be spending in an area simply to live there.

I worked in Greenwich and Stamford,CT and had a lot of GE Execs for clients. Believe me, the state of CT makes billions in personal taxes off these folks. Also, i will say, GE and its employees are highly woven into Fairfield county and have been for decades. If the HQ is moved, it will just be the sign and a few token employees. More likely there will be little future growth i CT and more ops set up elsewhere like GE is doing here and Boeing is doing. OKCs job is to show we can handle things that arent oil and gas related.