The GAO (Government Accountability Office) says that between 1996 and 2000, nearly 2/3 of corporations with assets of $250 million and sales of $50 million doing business in the US paid zero federal taxes. A favorite scheme is using offshore subsidiaries to launder profits. These reports show: the taxes major corporations pay compared to their declared profits. 2. Their offshore subsidiaries.
Chevron, once part of the Standard Oil empire, has grown over the past quarter century into the world’s fourth largest petroleum company, thanks to a series of ambitious acquisitions: Gulf Oil in 1984, Texaco in 2001 and Unocal in 2005. The purchase of Texaco brought with it a massive environmental lawsuit that has dragged on for more than a decade. This is only one of a host of controversies surrounding Chevron’s environmental and human rights record around the world.
The Madras Aluminium Company Ltd. (MALCO) is part of Vedanta Resources, a London listed metals and mining major with Aluminium, Copper and Zinc operations in UK, India and Australia. MALCO is a primary Aluminium producer in South India with operations encompassing mining, refining, smelting and power generation.
Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest pure gold mining company in the world, is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It has four regional business units (RBU's) located in Australia, Africa, North America, and South America. Barrick is currently undertaking mining and exploration projects in Papua New Guinea, the United States, Canada, Australia, Peru, Chile, Russia, South Africa, Argentina, and Tanzania. On January 20, 2006, Barrick acquired a majority share of Placer Dome.
Citigroup, operating as Citi, is a major financial services company based in New York City. The company is the most dramatic example of how banking deregulation both succeeded and failed. Formed by the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group, at its peak the company employed over 332,000 people around the world and held over 200 million customer accounts in more than 100 countries.
Maytas Infra Limited (MIL) is a Hyderabad (India) based construction and infrastructure development company. Promoted by the now-discredited Satyam Computer Services Ltd's founder and former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, Maytas Infra was at the centre of the Satyam financial scam which unravelled after Satyam's failed bid to acquire Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties.
Begun in 1987, Satyam Computer Services is the fourth largest IT Company in India, providing consulting, outsourcing, engineering and software solutions. Satyam describes itself as a global business and information technology company servicing more than 20 industries. The company went public in 1991 and is also listed in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Satyam says its revenues crossed the $1 billion (Rs 4800 cr @ Rs 48/$1) in 2006 making it the youngest IT company in India to reach this milestone.
Tata Sons is the promoter and major shareholder of all key companies of the Tata Group. The chairman of Tata Sons has traditionally been the chairman of the Tata Group. About 66 percent of the equity capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is the largest of the Big Four accounting firms, with 770 offices in 150 countries. The firm provides audit and assurance, tax advisory, and consulting services to large corporations and other clients.
According to its website the firm is "structured as a network of member firms, connected through membership in PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited." PwC was formed by the merger of Price Waterhouse with Coopers & Lybrand in 1998.
