5 Top 100 contractors make Dirty 30 list

Watchdog group's report looks at corporate income taxes and money spent on lobbying Congress.

Five Washington Technology Top 100 contractors have been singled out for paying more for lobbying Congress than on their federal income taxes, according to a new report.

Computer Science Corp., Verizon Communications, Boeing Co., General Electric Co. and Honeywell International Inc. are all included in U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s “Dirty Thirty” list that call outs Fortune 500 companies that “spend big on lobbying and avoid taxes,” the group said.

All five companies were included on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 Contractor list, and three of the contractors made the top 20.

The report says companies can use loopholes and special provisions in the tax code to pay less. The report looks at the years 2008 to 2010 and found 29 corporations received a net tax rebate during the 3-year study period.

One way corporations can receive a negative or net tax rebate is if they had excess tax deductions or credits in one year and then carried them back to a previous year when they did not enjoy excess deductions, thus producing a refund check, according to the “Representation Without Taxation,” study. Also, a company may not receive tax benefits claimed one year until a later year. 

Computer Science Corp. of Va. ranks #11, Verizon Communications of N.Y. ranks #18, Boeing Co. of Ill. ranks #3, General Electric Co. of Conn. ranks #36, and Honeywell International Inc. of New Jersey ranks #26 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list.

Click here for the U.S. PIRG report.