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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2013[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
njacobs@thefactcoalition.org
+1 (202) 841-1466
Contact: Nick Jacobs
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition today praised Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for the introduction of the Sequester Delay and Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. Among other things, this legislation would close or tighten tax loopholes that have been used by some of the most profitable multinational corporations – Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Nike – to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Some tax loopholes allow corporations to use complex accounting schemes to make it appear that profits earned in the United States are actually generated in other countries, often a tax haven with little or no tax on profits.
As an added benefit, closing these loopholes will also generate over $220 billion over the next ten years, which can be used to delay some of the automatic budget cuts that Congress put in place through sequestration. The FACT coalition contends that the use of these loopholes by corporations to move jobs and profits offshore drains the U.S. of much-needed resources and economic activity. As it stands, Congress is struggling to make up the required revenue needed to maintain our national security and provide for a functioning government. FACT Executive Director Nicole Tichon comments, “This bill provides for common-sense reforms that would help restore fairness and transparency within the tax code as well as vital revenue to the country.” “Jubilee USA applauds Congressman Doggett and Congresswoman DeLauro for introducing this important legislation that will benefit millions around the world and in the US,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based antipoverty organization. “Nations across the globe are impacted by multinational corporations not paying their fair share of taxes. Now is the time to stop these practices to protect the most vulnerable.” “When corporations use tax havens to dodge the taxes they owe, the rest of us pick up the tab, either through higher taxes, cuts to important programs, or a bigger deficit,” commented Dan Smith, Tax and Budget Advocate for U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). “Some budget decisions are tough, but closing the offshore tax loopholes that let large companies shift their tax burden to the rest of us is a no-brainer. This legislation is a twofer – it would make our tax code fairer while replacing arbitrary spending cuts that throw the baby out with the bathwater.” “When large corporations use offshore tax havens to avoid their tax responsibility, small businesses that pay our fair share face an economic disadvantage,” said Jim Houser, Executive Committee member of the Main Street Alliance and co-owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic, a small business in Portland, Oregon. “More than three quarters of small business owners support closing offshore tax loopholes, according to a poll this year by the Main Street Alliance. Small businesses need Congress to make economy-boosting investments that fuel consumer demand at home, not protect offshore tax dodgers.” A letter from a number of organizations in support of the bill can be found here.
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Founded in 2011, the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition unites civil society representatives from small business, labor, government watchdog, faith-based, human rights, anti-corruption, public-interest, and international development organizations. We seek an honest and fair corporate tax code, greater transparency in corporate ownership and operations, and commonsense policies to combat the facilitation of money laundering and other criminal activity by the legitimate financial system.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]