Tax evasion from wealthy individuals using a variety of offshore schemes, including hiding assets in foreign bank accounts, robs U.S. taxpayers of tens of billions of dollars per year — and the costs for developing countries are even worse. A growing global norm in favor of transparency can ensure that all are held equally accountable for paying the taxes they owe.
Up to $180 billion: The amount that the U.S. loses in tax revenue to offshore tax haven abuse each year.
$111 billion: Lost U.S. revenue from profit shifting by multinational corporations annually.
$40-70 billion: Lost U.S. revenue to tax evasion by wealthy individuals annually.
America Is the World’s Newest Tax Haven
If I asked you to name the world’s biggest tax haven, you might come up with the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, or Luxembourg. Those of you following the recent series of so-called “corporate tax inversions” might guess Ireland.
You probably wouldn’t think of the United States, but the latest edition of Bloomberg Businessweek points its finger squarely at Uncle Sam—and not without reason.
FACT’s Clark Gascoigne Discusses the U.S. Ranking as the 3rd Biggest Secrecy Jurisdiction in the Latest Financial Secrecy Index
Clark Gascoigne, the Deputy Director of the FACT Coalition, appeared on Mind Your Business with Alyona Minkovski, a weekly business program on HuffPost Live, on Friday, November 13, 2015. He discussed how the United States facilitates all sorts of financial crime with widespread financial opacity.
November 2, 2015
Join the FACT Coalition in Washington on Nov. 2nd at 1pm EST for the 2015 launch of the Financial Secrecy Index and find out where the U.S. ranks among the world’s biggest tax havens.
The FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition today praised the announcement from the Federal Reserve that five bankers at Credit Suisse have been barred from working in the banking industry for their part in helping U.S. citizens evade income taxes.
A vote in favor of repealing FATCA sends a message: a message to foreign banks that they can get back to helping wealthy Americans hide their assets and use offshore accounts to evade tax.
