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.
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.
ITEP/PIRG Report Reveals at Least 366 Corporations — 73 Percent — in the Fortune 500 Operate One or More Subsidiaries in Tax Haven Countries
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new study released Tuesday highlights the widespread use of offshore tax haven loopholes by large multinational companies.
History Shows Tax Giveaways on Offshore Profits Neither Create Jobs nor Spur Investment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president is expected to claim in a speech Wednesday afternoon that a zero percent tax rate for multinational corporations that book profits offshore and a tax holiday for those multinationals that have already booked stockpiles of money offshore will increase the pay of the average American household by $4,000 — an erroneous notion according to the FACT Coalition.
Alternative Group of Lawmakers Unveils Proposals that Would End the Offshore Gaming
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Treasury Department announced that it would maintain an important rule to curb offshore tax avoidance Wednesday, a move that stands in contrast to the administration’s proposals to make it easier to avoid taxes by booking profits offshore, according to the FACT Coalition.
The FACT Coalition sent a letter to Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden, chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Finance, with recommendations on how to improve the international tax system ahead of the October 3, 2017 hearing on “International Tax Reform.”
