Protesters target corporations’ minimal tax payments at shareholder meetings

April 26, 2012

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:

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
The latest Dirty Dozen tax scam list is familiar because too many are still falling for the schemes

March 5, 2026

Tax filing season is also peak time for tax scams. Be on the lookout for…

Read More
Hello Tax Season 2026

Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2025 tax return? I know, too early to ask. But Tax Day 2026 will be here before we realize it. The Internal Revenue Service deadline to file and pay any tax we owe is the regular April 15 date this year. It’s also Tax Day for most of the states that collect income taxes from their residents, which is most of the states! If that seems too far away right now, don’t worry. As is the case every tax season, the ol’ blog’s tips and other tax reminders should help all of us meet our state and federal responsibilities. Procrastinators also will want to keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It tracks how much time we have until April’s Tax Day, just in case we put off our annual tax task until the absolutely final hours and decide we need to instead get an extension request into the IRS by that date. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
Leave your comment