Your analysis/comment confuses two separate issues: the rates themselves & what the companies do (or do not) pay. To say that the companies do not pay the "effective" tax rate is not the same as saying that the tax rates are not the highest. Which is exactly what the NPR article is saying. The statutory US corporate tax rate is the highest. This is a fact. Now, do corporations seek to avoid paying that rate? Yes, primarily by registering in a foreign jurisdiction with a lower statutory rate (such as Ireland for many tech companies). This is why Pres. Obama was correct when he argued that by cutting the statutory corporate tax rate companies would pay more US taxes potentially. They also spend a great deal of capital trying to lower their tax burden; many economists argue that this is a misapplication of capital that by cutting corporate tax rates might be allocated to different goals.