Top 5 Companies Uncle Sam Loves

It is not surprising that even though the corporate tax rate is 35 percent, many of America’s largest corporations do not actually pay the full rate due to a number of loopholes and subsidiaries. Although many companies do not pay the full tax rate, some are favorites of the government because they do pay a lot in taxes.

The companies that tend to pay the full tax rate usually fall into a few categories, such as oil companies that produce “outsized profits”. The large oil companies grow even larger as oil prices continue to rise. Tech companies also tend to pay huge taxes along with some of the largest banks in the country.  The five companies that pay the most in corporate taxes are ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT).

ExxonMobil leads the pack in the amount of taxes it pays. In both 2011 and 2012, the oil company paid approximately $31 billion in income tax. Exxon is at the top of the list because it is so large.