Don't Mess With Taxes

The 99 percent contingent, or at least an offshoot of the protest group, is back.

This time the anger is directed at major U.S. corporations that the protesters say aren't paying a fair share of taxes.

At the beginning of General Electric's annual shareholder meeting in Detroit on Wednesday, three dozen protesters stood up and chanted "pay your fair share."

The group was referring to reports that GE's tax strategies have allowed the company to zero out its U.S. tax bill and even receive refunds from Uncle Sam.

The group was escorted from the meeting, according to the Detroit News, but continued the demonstration in the lobby of the Marriott hotel where GE was meeting. Additional protesters outside the building stretched into a nearby plaza, said the newspaper.

On Tuesday, a similar protest was mounted at the Wells Fargo shareholders annual meeting in San Francisco.

Police were called to the Merchants Exchange Building in the city's financial district, across from Wells Fargo's headquarters, as about 500 people gathered to protest the bank's lending and foreclosure practices.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that six protesters chained themselves together to block an entrance to the building. Another five to 10 protesters were inside chanting as police cleared paths for attendees.

Inside the shareholders' meeting hall, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf was interrupted less than a minute into his presentation by a person shouting that the bank should pay its fair share of taxes. At least two more more such protests and a disruption by several people at once followed the initial outburst, according to the newspaper.

The San Francisco tax protesters, like their Detroit counterparts, were escorted out by police.

If you own stock in a major American business and plan on attending the annual meeting, consider this fair warning.

You also might find these items of interest:

• GE and 14 other tax dodging companies
• G.E., corporate taxes and the GOP budget plan
• Tax avoidance series earns New York Times reporter
  a Pulitzer Prize