Nineteen of the largest U.S. corporations paid little or no taxes last year, according to an analysis of financial filings prepared by the Center for American Progress (CAP), CBS News reported. The CAP report found that while corporate profits are surging to record levels, these corporations within the Fortune 100 paid an effective tax rate in the single digits—or nothing at all. 

CAP reported that although the tax rate for large corporations is nominally 21 percent—down from 35 percent because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017—many corporations pay a much lower actual, or “effective," rate on their profits because of the many ways they can reduce their taxable income under the current tax system. 

CAP reported that four corporations—AT&T, Charter Communications, American International Group (AIG), and Dow—actually paid negative effective federal income tax rates on their U.S. profits for 2021, effectively enjoying tax refunds instead. 

In addition, the following 15 companies paid effective income tax rates of less than 10 percent in 2021: 

Amazon: 6.1 percent—$35.1 billion in U.S. earnings and $2.1 billion in federal income taxes. 

ExxonMobil: 2.8 percent—$9.3 billion in U.S. earnings and $236 million in federal income taxes. 

Microsoft: 9.7 percent—$33.7 billion in U.S. earnings and $3.3 billion in federal income taxes. 

JPMorgan Chase: 5.9 percent—$48.2 billion in U.S. earnings and $2.9 billion in federal income taxes. 

Verizon: 6.9 percent—$27.2 billion in U.S. earnings and $1.9 billion in federal income taxes. 

Ford: 1 percent—$10 billion in U.S. earnings and $100 million in federal income taxes. 

General Motors: 0.2 percent—$9.4 billion in U.S. earnings and $20 million in federal income taxes. 

Chevron: 1.8 percent—$9.5 billion in U.S. earnings and $174 million in federal income taxes. 

Bank of America: 3.5 percent— $31 billion in U.S. earnings and $1.1 billion in federal income taxes. 

UPS: 9.9 percent— $14 billion in U.S. earnings and $1.4 billion in federal income taxes. 

FedEx: 4.2 percent—$4.7 billion in U.S. earnings and $199 million in federal income taxes. 

MetLife: 1.3 percent—$4.8 billion in U.S. earnings and $62 billion in federal income taxes. 

Merck: 4 percent—$1.9 billion in U.S. earnings and $74 million in federal income taxes. 

Nike: 5.9 percent—$5.6 billion in U.S. earnings and $328 million in federal income taxes. 

Coca-Cola: 7.1 percent—$3.4 billion in U.S. earnings and $243 million in federal income taxes. 

CAP reported that, among companies outside the Fortune 100, Salesforce paid no federal income taxes in 2021, despite $2.7 billion in U.S. earnings; Duke Energy paid no federal income taxes in 2021, despite $3.7 billion in U.S. earnings; and Kinder Morgan paid no federal income taxes in 2021, despite $2.2 billion in U.S. earnings. Netflix, just outside the Fortune 100, paid only 1.1 percent on $5.3 billion of U.S. earnings. 

CAP also mentioned that the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) conducted a comprehensive analysis of federal taxes and company profits for a larger set of companies last year. ITEP found that for 2020, 55 profitable companies in the Fortune 500 or S&P 500 paid no federal taxes, and 26 paid nothing over the three-year period from 2018 to 2020. 

CBS News reported that CAP's findings come at a time when the Biden administration is pushing for a new corporate minimum tax of 15 percent—a baseline rate that advocates say would help ensure that profitable companies pay their fair share. Last fall, leaders of 136 countries agreed to a deal that imposes a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax.

CBS News quoted Seth Hanlon, a senior fellow at CAP and a co-author of the report, who said, "Our corporate tax code is broken when some of the biggest and most profitable companies in the country are paying little or no taxes."  

CAP describes itself as “an independent, nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action.”