the list goes on and on. some put total federal spending for corporate welfare at over $167 billion a year, which is far more than combined state and federal spending on social welfare programs for the poor. this figure doesn't take into account the tax breaks that corporations receive. the costs of these are difficult to calculate, but a 2008 government report revealed that during a seven-year period of soaring profit, 55 percent of large U.S. corporations had at least one year of paying no tax at all.