Supersized Taxes

SUPERSIZED TAXES How Fast-Food Chains Are Supersizing Your Tax Bill A new study found that low wages and lack of employee benefits at the 10 largest fast- -food chains cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $3.8 billion in 2012. These 10 companies earned a combined total of $7.4 billion in profits, paid $52.7 million to their highest-paid executives and distributed $7.7 billion in dividends and buybacks in the same year. Here's a look at how much each of the 10 largest fast-food companies cost American taxpayers in 2012, and how much profit they earned: $1 billion KEY O Cost To Taxpayers $100 million O Profits, Or Net Income $1 million McDonald's Net Income, 2012: $5.46 billion Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $1.2 billion Total number of restaurant employees: 707,850 Yum! Brands Net Income, 2012: $1.59 billion Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $648 million Total number of restaurant employees: 379,449 Subway Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $436 million Total number of restaurant employees: 255,490 (2012 net income data unavailable, as Subway is a privately held company.) Not all fast-food chains are as profitable as McDonald's. Half of the fast food companies on this list actually earned less in profits than the costs that they passed on to American taxpayers. This raises the question how sound are businesses that don't actually make any money at all? Burger King Net Income, 2012: $117.7 million Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $365 million Total number of restaurant employees: 208,307 Wendy's Net Income, 2012: $7.1 million Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $278 million Total number of restaurant employees: 162,876 Dunkin' Donuts Net Income, 2012: $108.3 million Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $274 million Total number of restaurant employees: 160,732 Dairy Queen Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $228 million Total number of restaurant employees: 133,860 (2012 net income data unavailable, as Dairy Queen is a privately held company.) Sonic Net Income, 2012: $36.1 million Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $164 million Total number of restaurant employees: 96,012 Domino's Net Income, 2012: $112.4 million Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $126 million Total number of restaurant employees: 73,920 Little Caesars Cost To Taxpayers, 2012: $125 million Total number of restaurant employees: 73,460 (2012 net income data unavailable, as Little Caesars is a privately held company.) By Lisa Mahapatra INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES Sources: National Employment Law Project paper titled "Super-Sizing Public Costs," October 2013 UC Berkeley Labor Center paper titled "Fast Food, Poverty Wages,"October 15, 2013