Campaign Launched Challenging Chrysler, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark, and International Paper to Stand up for California by Supporting Proposition 39

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in a full-page ad in the Sacramento Bee, a campaign was launched challenging Chrysler, General Motors, Kimberly-Clark and International Paper, four companies that have lobbied successfully to keep a corporate tax loophole alive that allows them to dodge millions of dollars in California taxes while selling millions of dollars of products in the state, to stand up for California by pledging not to oppose Proposition 39.  Proposition 39 would eliminate a corporate tax loophole that is costing the state tens of thousands of jobs and $1 billion in revenues at a time of high unemployment and budget shortfalls.

The four companies, all of which have aggressively fought similar attempts to eliminate the corporate tax loophole, have been challenged to sign the California Fairness Pledge by "High-Noon" on Monday, July 30.  The pledge states that the companies agree not to fight the passage of Proposition 39, which will be on the November 2012 ballot.  If the companies decline to sign the pledge, a full-fledged campaign will be launched to inform the public about how these four companies are making millions of dollars off of California taxpayers, but refusing to pay their fair share of California taxes.

The challenge in the ad, which can be viewed at http://scr.bi/LPSzSm states, "If they choose to stand against California, we will launch THE BIG FOUR TAX DODGERS campaign - a sustained effort to inform taxpayers, consumers and government officials about the conduct of these four companies, including but not limited to: the specifics of their government contracts; their record of state and local tax delinquencies; the amount of bailout money they received that came from California; their record of off-shoring of jobs; and what contracts or other issues they are currently lobbying before federal, state and local governments."

The Tax Dodger Campaign ad appeared in the Sacramento Bee as well as on a variety of web sites, which direct the CEOs to the California Fairness Pledge on Facebook, where the campaign will launch a sustained effort targeting THE BIG FOUR TAX DODGERS if they decline to sign the pledge.  The first report that will be made public as part of the BIG FOUR TAX DODGERS campaign will document the California taxpayer funded contracts currently awarded to these corporations.  The public can sign up to receive the report at http://www.facebook.com/FairIsFairTaxation. 

The corporate tax loophole that Proposition 39 seeks to eliminate, was created in the dead of the night in a backroom Sacramento deal with no debate or disclosure in 2009 and is specifically designed so that the fewer Californians out-of-state-companies employ, the less they pay in taxes. The loophole, which gives companies an option of calculating their income based on a mixture of payroll, property, and sales, gives multi-state corporations an incentive to keep jobs and investment in other states so that they can reduce their taxes in California.

Proposition 39 would require out-of-state companies to pay taxes based on one factor -- their sales in California -- instead of giving them a choice between sales, property, and payroll.  The Mandatory Single Sales Factor would prohibit multi-state companies from reaping profits on their sales in California while dodging their fair share of California state taxes.  The states of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin have all adopted a mandatory single sales factor approach – without a loophole – to provide an incentive to companies to invest in state. Only California and one other state – Missouri – have this glaring loophole.

To learn more about Proposition 39 visit: http://www.cleanenergyjobsact.com/

SOURCE Yes on 39 - Californians to Close the Out-of-State Corporate Tax Loophole