General Electric reported that its first-quarter earnings have increased by 77 percent compared to the fourth-quarter of 2010.  This comes as the New York Times reported that GE paid zilch on their taxes, while raking in over $14 billion in profits in 2010.  Even worse, GE actually received $3.2 billion in tax benefits.

Business Week does a great job of outlining GE's tax code shenanigans. In sum, the company has laid out big money to powerful DC lobbyists to take advantage of and keep various breaks and loopholes in the tax code.  This isn't anything new or particularly surprising, but it is a great example of what happens when you have a toxic combination of a long and complex tax code and rent-seeking corporations who have been able to carve out special treatment at the expense of individuals.