Think Progress \u00bb KBR Dodges $500 Million In Social Security And Medicare Taxes In Cheney-Backed Scheme<\/p>\n
\nNo private contractor has financially profited from the Iraq war more than Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), which until last year was a subsidiary of Halliburton.<\/strong> The firm currently has more than 21,000 employees<\/a> in Iraq, and between 2004 and 2006, received more than $16 billion in government contracts<\/a> \u2014 far more than any other corporation. <\/p>\n
Yet KBR hasn\u2019t been passing on these enormous profits to American taxpayers or even its own employees, thanks to a plan that Vice President Cheney helped establish. Today, the Boston Globe reports that KBR has avoided paying more than $500 million<\/a> \u201cin federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies\u201d based in the Cayman Islands. …<\/p>\n
KBR\u2019s practices are extreme, <\/strong>even compared to its competitors<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> Other top Iraq war contractors \u2014 including Bechtel and Parsons \u2014 pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for their employees. <\/p>\n
The Bush administration has aided this tax dodging.<\/strong> One of KBR\u2019s shell companies is Overseas Administrative Services, which was set up two months after Cheney became Halliburtion\u2019s CEO in 1995<\/a>. Since at least 2004, the Pentagon has known about KBR\u2019s practices, but chosen to ignore the issue. <\/p>\n
Of course, KBR is more than happy to claim workers as its own in one instance: when seeking \u201clegal immunity extended to employers working in Iraq<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Think Progress \u00bb KBR Dodges $500 Million In Social Security And Medicare Taxes In Cheney-Backed Scheme<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Think Progress \u00bb KBR Dodges $500 Million In Social Security And Medicare Taxes In Cheney-Backed Scheme No private contractor has financially profited from the Iraq war more than Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), which until last year was a subsidiary of Halliburton. The firm currently has more than 21,000 employees in Iraq, and between 2004 … Continue reading BushCo<\/span>