Protesters rip corporations

While Lady Liberty — in all her inflatable glory — beckoned southbound motorists to a tax preparation business in Marysville on Monday, nine tax day protesters stood across the street in front of Bank of America and appealed to northbound drivers.

"I pay, you pay, why doesn't B of A?" read one of their signs.

"Corporate greed = Bad 4 America" read another.

The local protesters were taking part in a nationwide "Make them Pay" tax day campaign from MoveOn.org, a Democrat-founded political group.

Bank of America is listed among MoveOn's "Deadbeat Dozen" — corporate giants likely to pay little or nothing in federal income tax for 2010.

The others are General Electric, Google, BP, Amazon.com, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Boeing, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Goldman Sachs and Chase.

Elizabeth Adams, a Marysville resident and local MoveOn coordinator, said she believes those corporations get a free ride at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. She wanted to call attention to inequities in the system, she said.

"We have a struggling middle class and a struggling lower class with people of both parties," she said. "And you have a corporation like Bank of America that pays no taxes whatsoever.

"This issue crosses party lines. It affects everybody," she said.

Corporate tax returns are not required to be made public.

But according to a Charlotte Observer article published in March, Bank of America's annual reports indicated state, local and foreign income taxes totaling about $1.9 billion for 2010.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank had no federal income tax expenses for a second straight year, and reported a tax benefit of nearly $1 billion, according to the article.

Under U.S. law, BofA and other American corporations have been able to save on taxes by keeping profits made in foreign operations invested abroad.

According to a 2008 U.S. Government Accountability Office study, 83 of the nation's 100 largest publicly traded companies have subsidiaries in offshore tax havens.

On Monday, protests were staged in towns and cities across the country on behalf of MoveOn, and another group called US Uncut, whose slogan is, "No cuts until corporate tax cheats pay up!"

From elsewhere on the political spectrum, tea party groups also rallied tax day demonstrations on Monday, including one in Chico.

Participants at those sites waved signs and heard speeches calling for tax cuts and smaller government.

Bill Fall, of Olivehurst, said he saw the Marysville MoveOn protest information on the Internet Monday morning, and decided to join in.

The 80-year-old retired insurance underwriter said he remembers the last few years of the Depression, "when people didn't have enough to eat," he said.

Corporate greed, he said, was the culprit then and now.

"They rig the system in their favor," he said. "They did it before and they'll do it again."

Inside the E Street branch of the bank, Adams briefly attempted to deliver protest literature to the manager as part of the day's ritual. The bank manager, who would not identify himself, declined to accept.

Some patrons also did not take kindly to Adams' message. One said the group's presence was tantamount to harassment, and requested that the manager telephone police.

Police called to the scene informed the group that their entering the bank was a form of trespass. The officers warned Adams to stay outdoors, and the group complied.

"They're doing everything right," said Eileen Burke-Trent, a Gridley resident who offered her support of the protest on behalf of the League of Women Voters.

"Everybody's very civil and polite. It's a healthy thing to question government, and for citizens to be proactive in their government," she said.

CONTACT reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712.