Eliminate Corporate Welfare

Corporate welfare can be defined as federal subsidies to profitable, well-established industries that do not need them. These subsidies can take different forms, including direct payments, preferential tax treatment, or government-backed insurance policies. ...More

Some of the most profitable industries in the world, such as oil and gas companies, still receive billions of dollars worth of subsidies from taxpayers every year.

Subsidies such as preferential tax rates for select industries distort free market forces and put Congress in the position of choosing winners and losers. Many industries that receive some form of corporate welfare from the federal government also manage to spend millions on lobbyists and campaign contributions every year to keep these very subsidies in place. Federal subsidies to profitable corporations are a waste of tax dollars and Congress should eliminate them immediately.

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All the latest content from TCS in Eliminate Corporate Welfare
Our Take

Big Oil Boasts High Profits; Subsidies Continue

February 01, 2013

Big Oil Boasts High Profits; Subsidies Continue Oil and gas companies continue to boast substantial profits while reaping billions in taxpayer-backed subsidies. As of February 1st, four... Read More

Letters & Testimony

Congress: Only Fund Emergency Needs in Sandy Supplemental

January 11, 2013

Congress: Only Fund Emergency Needs in Sandy Supplemental   January 11, 2012 Dear Representative, As you know, the House of... Read More

Our Take

Farm Bill Extension Better Than Trillion-Dollar Bill

January 03, 2013

Farm Bill Extension Better Than Trillion-Dollar Bill As we predicted, all the hype about the “dairy cliff” hitting consumers with sky-high milk prices was nothing but a hoax.... Read More

Our Take

Top 10 Fiscal Cliff Tax Fails

January 02, 2013

Washington’s last minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff saw the return of many never-ending “temporary” tax breaks. While the bulk of the... Read More

Our Take

Lactose Intolerance: There is No Dairy Cliff

December 28, 2012

Lactose Intolerance: There is No Dairy Cliff Don’t believe the hype. There is no milk cliff. Yes, after the new year, permanent farm law from 1949 (and 1938) will take effect, but the... Read More

Press Releases

Taxpayer and Environmental Groups Endorse Flake-Chaffetz Crop Insurance Reform Legislation

July 10, 2012

Taxpayers for Common Sense joined several groups in urging Congress to support H.R. 6098, "Crop Insurance Subsidy Reform... Read More

More in-depth material from TCS in Eliminate Corporate Welfare
Fact Sheets

Political Power of the Agribusiness and Crop Insurance Lobbies

October 31, 2012

Political Power of the Agribusiness and Crop Insurance Lobbies The so-called Farm Bill currently being negotiated in Congress is shaping up to be another taxpayer-funded handout to wealthy landowners,... Read More

101

Farm Bill 101

October 02, 2012

Farm Bill 101 The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation that guides food and farm policy. It covers wide-ranging topics from rural broadband service to farm subsidy payments.... Read More

101

Agricultural Safety Net 101

October 02, 2012

The agricultural safety net refers to the various federal programs and policies that insulate agricultural producers from the costs of conducting business.... Read More

Fact Sheets

Taxpayer-Backed Loan Guarantees for Liquid Coal: Medicine Bow, Wyoming

September 18, 2012

(Originally Posted December 2011, Most Recent Update: September 2012) In 2008, Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC applied for a $1.7 billion... Read More

TCS appearances in the media in Eliminate Corporate Welfare

State Of The Union: Obama Renews Call For Elimination Of Some Corporate Tax Loopholes

February 13, 2013 | Huffington Post

Solving the never-ending budget crisis and reducing the deficit will require corporate tax reform, Obama said. Obama called for tax reform... Read More

Strange bedfellows unite to bash RFS

February 05, 2013 | Des Moines Register (AP)

The country’s Renewable Fuel Standard has done something few things in Washington can: bring together a diverse set of interests for a... Read More

Unusual allies fight renewable fuel standard

February 05, 2013 | Fuel Fix

Humanitarians, environmentalists, farmers’ advocates and refiners on Monday came together to demand changes to a renewable fuel mandate they... Read More

Sen. Murkowski backs calls to reevaluate biofuel mandate

February 05, 2013 | The Hill

The Senate Energy Committee’s top Republican said Monday that she is “in good company” with congressional calls to reevaluate a... Read More

Sen. Mitch McConnell says he didn’t push for fiscal cliff provision aiding donor pharmaceutical company

February 04, 2013 | The Courier-Journal (AP)

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell says he didn’t push for a special provision tucked into the fiscal cliff deal — which he negotiated — that... Read More

Weekly Wastebasket

Our weekly reality-check for federal spending. View All

January 18, 2013

Dear Mr. President

Congratulations on your re-election. As you are about to be sworn in for a second term, we at Taxpayers for... Read More