Wealthy land owners and industrialists financed these public projects for a small profit. As the corporations grew, they began to influence politicians. By the late nineteenth century, politicians asserted their powers to benefit the corporations and of course, the very wealthy. The largess the State provides for the big corporations is known as wealthfare. Wealthfare forces the cost of business and government on the American taxpayer and disproportionately on the working and middle classes.
Accelerated depreciation gives many corporations a major tax break.
Real estate speculators can avoid capital gains taxes indefintely via 1031 exchanges. 40 million U.S. families rent and do not get the five different federal tax breaks. It includes price supports, production quotas, market quotas, import restrictions, deficiency payments, irrigation subsidies to Southern Pacific, Chevron, Getty Oil, Shell Oil, and Prudential Insurance. Use of off shore tax shelters and transfer pricing, credit for foreign taxes, and state and local tax deductions from federal income. Corporate life insurance is tax free.