Lynn groups join forces for tax day protest

LYNN – Lynn resident Denise Clark got into an argument with her taxi driver Tuesday afternoon about big corporations paying their fair share of taxes.?He said they create the jobs so why should they pay?” Clark said. “That is the craziest thing I have ever heard.”Clark was on her way to join many North Shore residents who took part in tax day rally in Boston?s Dewey Square to protest against corporate tax dodgers.?I believe it is important to speak up,” Clark said. “It?s one for all and all for one.”Many organizations from the Lynn area took part in the protest including North Shore Labor Council, Lynn United for Change, Neighbor-to-Neighbor and Mass Senior Action Council.?It?s great to have such diverse representation today,” said Marisol Santiago of Mass Uniting.The protest comes on the heels of a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice. The report reveals local businesses like General Electric, Bank of America and Verizon are the worst tax dodgers. GE received a tax refund of $3.7 million in the past three years despite posting profits of more than $19.6 billion, according to a press release from Mass Uniting.?It is tax day, but that day never seems to come for these corporations,” Santiago said.The belief that multimillion dollar corporations continue to dodge or not pay their fair share of taxes disheartens some.?There are many people in Lynn who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Lissy Romanow, who works with Neighbor-to-Neighbor. “They are fighting to have basic needs.”Lynn resident Ramon Burgos is one of those residents.?I am low income and I pay more taxes than big corporations,” Burgos said.Burgos said he would like to see more funding from taxes go to education, health care and affordable housing.?A great majority of people, people like me, need things like this,” Burgos said.During the protest, protesters stopped at various big corporations like GE and Verizon and presented them with mock past due tax statements claiming how much money they owed in taxes.Lynn resident Wil Cespedes was among the large crowd at Dewey Square.?We are a very business-orientated country and all it seems to be about is profit,” Cespedes said. “It should be about people and their well-being. I will be a part of anything that promotes that.”Cespedes claimed that every 37 seconds a child dies of poverty.?It pains me thinking about that. Poverty is the most powerful weapon,?” he said. “Such a small group of people have all the power and that?s not right.”Some argue that demonstrations like the one Tuesday are class warfare.?In a way it is, but they are the ones who created the war. We are just fighting for what is right,” Clark said.Romanow disagreed.?It?s not about warfare. It?s about equality,” she said.Romanow believes it?s a sense of entitlement that causes big corporations to not pay taxes.?I think there is this idea that if you make that much money, you deserve it,” she said. “People in Lynn who work very hard but still struggle deserve a break too.”Cespedes believes that these big corporations have the law on their side.?They make the law go their way. That?s how they get away with it,” he said. “There are many addictions in this country and these people are addicted to power and wealth and will do everything not to give it up.”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].