Report: 60% of Tennessee Businesses Pay Zero Corporate Tax

Tennessee for All holds event to highlight tax disparity in Tennessee

On the heels of the release of a report by the Economic Policy Institute showing that 60% of Tennessee companies pay no corporate income tax, a coalition calling itself Tennessee for All held a media event to draw attention to what it calls a significant tax disparity.

Vonda McDaniel, President of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee said, “I always hear that Tennessee is a low tax state, but in truth, it’s just a low tax state for businesses, not working families like you and I.”

The group noted it was highlighting tax discrepancies in Tennessee and nationally. Specifically, the coalition called out Amazon, which according to a report from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy avoided more than $5 billion in corporate federal income taxes in 2021.

Speakers at the event noted that Tennessee families pay a heavy tax burden while corporations often avoid taxes altogether.

Paula Pendergrass, Vice President of Metro Nashville Education Association said, “They are talking about overhauling our school funding formula, but not once have they talked about who pays to fund our schools. Parents pay at grocery stores; they pay when they buy back to school clothes for their children. Homeowners pay in local property taxes, but now we know many corporations don’t pay anything at all.”

Rev. Ingrid McIntyre said, “We’ve let our tax code become a monument to wealth and power and need to envision a system that builds more justice for all."

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