When Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, she lobbied the U.S. government for a temporary tax break on profits, claiming it was needed to create jobs. Instead, she used the money to buy back HP stock, and then fired 14,500 employees.
The temporary tax break was included as part of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, a one-time tax exemption on profits earned by international companies. The Act reduced taxes on profits from 35 percent to 5.25 percent, generating a collective $299 billion gain for the companies involved. HP accrued more than $4 billion.
The tax savings was meant for companies to reinvest in a way that would create jobs. It specifically prohibited stock repurchasing. Fiorina used $4.3 billion to buy back HP stock, while firing 14,500 employees. Many other companies did the same thing.
“The biggest winners were Pfizer, which bought back $37 billion while eliminating 10,000 jobs; and Merck, which bought back $15.9 billion while eliminating 7,000 jobs,” wrote Michael Daly of The Daily Beast.
For more on this story, visit The Daily Beast “Carly Fiorina’s $4 Billion Job Scam at Hewlett-Packard”
