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Stephenson
With a 2011 failed T-Mobile merger well behind him, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson did well for himself in 2012, walking home with $21 million in compensation.
AT&T customers did less well, facing the imminent termination of AT&T Plus, a customer loyalty rewards program trialed in three states that offered customers waived upgrade and activation fees, gift cards, and 25% off cell phone accessories.
AT&T Mobility’s chief financial officer Pet Ritcher said that customers shifting into its Mobile Share data plans would do a better job of keeping customers in place.
Despite the fact Stephenson’s failure to secure the T-Mobile merger cost the company a $4.2 billion deal termination penalty payable in cash and wireless spectrum, his personal compensation only took a $2.1 million hit in 2011. All was forgiven in 2012, when his compensation hit a new record, up from the $20.2 million earned in 2010 — a four percent pay hike earned in an era of stagnant or declining wages for the middle and working classes.
The breakdown:
Stephenson’s base salary of $1.55 million was enhanced with a $6.06 million bonus and $12.6 million in additional AT&T shares;- Stephenson’s personal use of AT&T’s corporate jets cost the company $276,391;
- AT&T paid for Stephenson’s home security as a cost of $101,923;
- Miscellaneous compensation amounted to $803,308.
AT&T’s earnings amounted to $7.3 billion in 2012, up 84 percent from $3.9 billion earned the year before. Revenue increased to $127.4 billion.
AT&T paid no federal taxes in 2011. In fact, the company won a taxpayer-subsidized refund of $420 million.
Wireless plan changes, workforce reductions, rate increases, and other “cost savings” also all helped the company.
They can affords this because they have the “Donate $2” button on their phones also known as MediaNet which you cannot block. I’ve been back and forth, through the FCC and even through some law firms about this illegal tactic. Apparently AT&T donates enough to political candidates to keep the people off their back. Verizon wasn’t so lucky and was sued over this (and settled). I ended up blocking the data on all other lines because there was no way to avoid the errant data charges even though the block took away features I was paying for such as IM… Read more »
@BenJF3: I have an AT&T phone and I don’t see a “Donate $2” or “MediaNet” button anywhere. Where is it? I’ve had AT&T wireless service for ten years (that’s four or five phones — I’ve lost track) and I don’t recall ever seeing such a button (or app).
Phillip: have you ever gotten a refund after filing your tax return?
Assuming you have, did that mean you paid no taxes that year? Of course not. A refund simply means you OVERPAID your tax liability and you got some of YOUR OWN MONEY back — it doesn’t mean your refund was “subsidized” by me and other taxpayers. Similarly, just because AT&T got a refund in 2011 doesn’t mean they paid they no taxes or that the refund was subsidized by taxpayers.
Didn’t we have this discussion last year?
Between 2008 and 2010, Verizon received $12.3 billion in tax subsidies from the federal government and had an effective tax rate of –2.9 percent. AT&T in 2011 had a federal tax rate of minus 6.4 percent. [Source: Citizens for Tax Justice] You keep misunderstanding. This is not a case where you and I overpay the government. AT&T last year paid NOTHING in federal taxes because of subsidies and write-offs and still got a refund. The same thing happened to Verizon in years earlier. If you run a business you pay estimated quarterly taxes by mailing a check to the IRS… Read more »
Citizens for Tax Justice do not have access to corporate tax returns. Their claims are based on their analysis of publicly available 10Ks and annual reports. As I’ve said before, taxes for GAAP purposes are not the same as taxes paid to the IRS. Without seeing the actual returns, we have no idea how close CTJ’s estimates are to reality.
shhhh….. quiet time for the stupid peasants who need to accept the reality that taxes are for poor people. what do you do for the world? they give us phones and internet and stuff. you should seriously feel honored and privileged to lick their rectums clean after defecation, because they’ve given you (a parasite, basically) all this wonderful stuff and now you wanna BITCH at the people who give you everything? shut up and go back to work. keep on sassing us with that occupy crap and we’ll give you a carbon tax via mandatory GPS in cars with that… Read more »