On April 17, 2012 members of Boston Workers Alliance joined over 1,000 protestors to tell corporations and the 1% to pay their fair share of taxes. The rally, called Boston Tax Day Action, brought together concerned citizens from Dorchester to the North Shore. BWA members marched from Dewey Square to the Financial District, telling local corporations such as General Electric, State Street, Bank of America and Verizon that they are tired of them getting tax refunds and not paying taxes; taxes that would go toward things in the community like education, jobs, fair housing and community programs.
Despite billion-dollar profits, these corporations have managed to avoid taxation altogether, with some even raking in hundreds of millions in tax refunds. General Electric alone managed to draw in a federal tax refund of $3.7 billion over the last three years, despite posting profits of more than $19.6 billion! This rampant corporate tax dodging is bankrupting our communities, forcing mass layoffs, slashing vital services and closing schools and community centers.
BWA member Damon Kiser spoke to the crowd, saying “It’s hard to hold a job these days. I work in IT (information technology). They (my former job) laid me off. Shipped my job overseas. Why? So they could make more money. So they could make more profits. And pay not taxes!” Hard working people in our community are being put out of a job by these big corporate big wigs who receive huge bonuses and perks.
Enough is enough! It’s time to put people over profits and it’s time for big businesses and the wealthiest amongst us to pay their fair share, just like the rest of us do.
