Close Tax Loopholes | Page 23 | The FACT Coalition

Treasury Toying with Making Tax Avoidance Easier

July 28, 2017

Sometimes the long drive towards a more equitable and reasonable tax system feels like it’s one step forward, two steps back.

This month, the two steps back we risk taking come in the form of unraveling a Treasury rule established under the Obama administration. Thanks to an executive order from the Trump administration, Section 385 is currently being reviewed by the Treasury Department. The rule takes aim at curbing corporate tax haven abuse — the hallmark of a tax system rigged for the few biggest multinational corporations. Preliminary estimates from Treasury found that it’s impact on offshore tax avoidance would be significant considering that the rule would raise $7.4 billion over 10 years.

After Death of BAT, Time to Fix the Gaming of the Corporate Tax System

July 28, 2017

Statement of the FACT Coalition on the “Joint Statement on Tax Reform”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of Administration and Congressional leaders known as the “Big Six” released a joint statement outlining their priorities for reforming the tax code Thursday.

Letter Recommending Improvements of the Tax System to the Senate Committee on Finance

July 17, 2017

The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) sent a letter to Senator Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, with recommendations on how to improve the American tax system. The full letter can be read below or downloaded here.

Statement on Speaker Ryan’s Tax Announcement at the National Association of Manufacturers

June 20, 2017

Speaker Paul Ryan gave a speech on tax reform before the National Association of Manufacturers. In the speech, he restated his position that corporate tax cuts will create jobs and that the United States should move to a territorial tax system.

World Leaders Gathered for Another Paris Agreement, and the U.S. Was Noticeably Absent

June 14, 2017

Tell me if you’ve heard this before: Nations from around the world gathered in Paris to sign a multilateral agreement that had been negotiated over several years with the U.S. as a leading partner. In the end, the U.S. was conspicuously absent from the ceremony and did not sign onto the final agreement.

I, of course, am referring to an effort to combat aggressive corporate tax avoidance and address the wealth-draining concerns over the growth of tax havens. See FACT’s statement on the event. The agreement was a part of the multilateral initiative on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) negotiated through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Over seventy countries moved forward with an agreement to combat tax avoidance by amending bilateral tax treaties.

Paris 2.0 — First Climate, Now U.S. Retreats from Anti-Tax Avoidance Accord

June 7, 2017

“U.S. Administration Chose to Double Down on Its Abdication of American Leadership.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just one week after pulling out of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, the U.S. administration has chosen to back away from yet another international convention — this one to combat abusive tax avoidance. Coincidentally, the tax agreement was also negotiated and signed in Paris — at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).