60% of US corporations failed to pay tax

More than 60% of US corporations didn’t pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, the investigative arm of Congress reported.

The disclosures from the General Accounting Office are certain to fuel the debate over corporate tax payments in the presidential campaign.

Corporate tax receipts have shrunk markedly as a share of overall federal revenue in recent years, and were particularly depressed when the economy soured.

By 2003, they had fallen to just 7.4% of overall federal receipts and the second-lowest rate since 1934, federal budget officials say.