Activists Shut Down Bank of America Branch in D.C. in Tax Protest
In Washington, D.C., 600 activists with National People’s Action shut down a branch of Bank of America Monday to protest the bank’s record of dodging taxes. National People’s Action recently issued a report about how Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes. The study found that over the past two years, the six banks paid income tax at an approximate rate of 11 percent of their pre-tax earnings in the United States, far less than the 35 percent that they are legally mandated to pay. By avoiding the taxes, the banks saved $13 billion. National People’s Action reports this potential tax revenue could have been used to cover more than two years of salaries for some 132,000 teachers who lost their jobs since the economic crisis began in 2008.
Tom Cruise Cited for Dodging Property Taxes in Colorado
The Denver Post reports actor Tom Cruise pays just $400 a year in property taxes for his 248-acre property in Telluride by taking advantage of a tax break written to help struggling farmers. As Cruise lives virtually tax-free, the state may approve a $375 million cut to education funding.
First Deepwater Oil Exploration Project Approved Since BP Spill
The U.S. Department of Interior has approved Shell’s plan for deepwater oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, the first such exploration plan since the BP oil spill. Shell is planning to drill three exploratory wells in nearly 3,000 feet of water about 130 miles off the Louisiana coastline. There are 13 other deepwater oil and natural gas exploration plans pending approval. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the source of another large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Times-Picayune reports that emulsified oil and tar balls have been washing up along a 30-mile stretch of beach in Louisiana.