Nike Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in the Last Three Years

Nike hasn’t paid any Federal Income Tax in the last three years, even though it’s made about $4.1 billion USD in profits over that period.

According to New York Times, the American footwear giant was just one among several corporations who were able to avoid paying federal income taxes, legally. “This continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations,” notes ITEP (The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy). “The tax-avoiding companies represent various industries and collectively enjoyed almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income in 2020.”

According to the ITEP, much of this corporate tax avoidance was made possible by the Tax Reform Plan of 2017, carried out by the Republican majority Congress and approved by President Donald Trump. This allowed large companies to significantly trim their tax bills, reducing corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent. Nike, and other companies, found it could also use tax breaks for executive stock options to “sharply reduce [its] income taxes.” ITEP adds, “Nike didn’t pay a dime of federal income tax on almost $2.9 billion USD of U.S. pretax income last year, instead enjoying a $109 million tax rebate.”

Nike also took advantage of the CARES Act, a stimulus bill signed by President Donald Trump aimed at helping businesses and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed Nike to “carry back” losses in 2020 to offset some of its profits from the previous years.

Bernie Sanders also pointed out Nike’s tax avoidance on Twitter: “If you paid $120 for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, you paid more to Nike than it paid in federal income taxes over the past 3 years, while it made $4.1 billion USD in profits and Nike’s founder, Phil Knight, became over $23 billion richer.”

In case you missed it, the USPS could be taking legal action against Nike’s Priority Mail-inspired Air Force 1 Experimental.