Abbott Laboratories, Boeing Co., Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility are among the 26 companies that paid more to their CEOs in 2011 than they did in U.S. federal taxes, according to a study released on Thursday.
Tax breaks on research and development, past losses, and foreign-held earnings were among those lightening the tax load for many companies on the list, said the Institute for Policy Studies, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C.
Citigroup, Abbott and AT&T all took issue with the institute's methodology. All three said they paid all taxes owed in 2011.
During a presidential election cycle in which wealth and taxes are often debated, the study's authors said the U.S. tax code has become an enabler of large CEO pay, while also offering companies ways to reduce their tax bills.
Four pay-related tax breaks combined to cost taxpayers $14 billion in uncollected federal taxes, the report said.
The four included breaks dealing with performance-based chief executive pay and stock options, as well as the preferential 15 percent tax rate on carried interest enjoyed by private equity partners and other financiers, it said.
Compensation for the 26 CEOs whose pay surpassed their companies' corporate tax bills averaged $20.4 million, according to the study. That average was up 23 percent over last year.
Tax breaks on research and development, past losses, and foreign-held earnings were among those lightening the tax load for many companies on the list, said the Institute for Policy Studies, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C.
Citigroup, Abbott and AT&T all took issue with the institute's methodology. All three said they paid all taxes owed in 2011.
During a presidential election cycle in which wealth and taxes are often debated, the study's authors said the U.S. tax code has become an enabler of large CEO pay, while also offering companies ways to reduce their tax bills.
Four pay-related tax breaks combined to cost taxpayers $14 billion in uncollected federal taxes, the report said.
The four included breaks dealing with performance-based chief executive pay and stock options, as well as the preferential 15 percent tax rate on carried interest enjoyed by private equity partners and other financiers, it said.
Compensation for the 26 CEOs whose pay surpassed their companies' corporate tax bills averaged $20.4 million, according to the study. That average was up 23 percent over last year.
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