<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<style>
p { width:200px; height:120px; background-color: lightgreen;}
.control { padding: -100px; }
</style>
<div style="background-color: yellow;">
<p class="control">This element should have zero padding.</p>
<p class="control">This element should have zero padding.</p>
<p class="control">This element should have zero padding.</p>
<p class="control">This element should have zero padding.</p>
</div>