There is widespread agreement, across the political spectrum, that the gaming of the tax code by multinational corporations is a problem. When profits and jobs are shipped offshore, we not only harm the U.S. economy, we fuel a tax haven industry that drains wealth around the world. We seek to fix the problem of large, well-connected interests gaming the tax system.
FACT Coalition Spokespeople Available to Comment on Tax Bills and Paradise Papers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s amendments to the proposed tax legislation Monday evening nearly eliminated a safeguard in the tax bill meant to discourage some shifting of profits offshore by multinational corporations according to a score by Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.
Lawmakers Must Investigate How Proposed Legislation Will Address Offshore Loopholes Highlighted in New ‘Paradise Papers’ Leak
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new leak of documents from an offshore law firm, published by an international network of news outlets Sunday, expose a number of tax avoidance techniques used by the wealthy and multinational corporations to avoid taxes.
Middle-Class Taxpayers and Domestic Businesses Foot the Bill for Offshore Tax Loopholes
Many Large U.S.-Based Multinationals Avoid Paying U.S. Taxes by Using Accounting Tricks to Make Profits Made in America Appear to Be Generated in Offshore Tax Havens—Countries with Minimal or No Taxes.
$129 billion to $205 billion: Amount that U.S. taxpayers lose in federal revenue to offshore tax haven abuse each year.
$94 billion to $135 billion: Lost U.S. revenue from offshore profit shifting by multinational corporations annually.[i]
$35 billion to $70 billion: Lost U.S. revenue to tax evasion by wealthy individuals annually.[ii], [iii]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee unveiled legislation Thursday that would overhaul the U.S. tax system. According to the FACT Coalition, the bill would reward corporations that have shifted profits to tax havens.
Our tax system is fundamental to our democracy, delineating who pays the costs of a functioning civilization. But the system is broken, leaving an undeniable imbalance between the working and middle-classes and the wealthy and multinational companies. It would seem to follow then that the focus of tax reform should be around correcting this imbalance by targeting those that have gamed the system and flagrantly avoided taxation. Yet, the priority for Congress and the administration seems to be to exacerbate tax avoidance with greater incentives for shifting profits offshore.
There is currently $2.6 trillion booked offshore — untaxed — by multinational companies. This is the result of a gaping loophole for multinationals known as deferral, where a company can delay paying taxes until the profits are “repatriated” to the U.S. The administration has frequently cited this number as a reason our tax code needs “reform,” and, on that point, there is broad agreement. Our tax system undoubtedly needs reform, though, their solution—to simply not tax offshore profits—misses the point.
