Take Action Donate

News & Events

Just the FACTs: December 22, 2016

2016 is coming to an end.  This year has certainly been an eventful one—we have witnessed  several document leaks revealing the closely guarded secrets of the offshore world, and a divisive election where the issue of tax avoidance and offshore loopholes were highlighted by both campaigns.

In April, the Panama Papers gave us 14.5 million documents exposing the offshore dealings of the ultra-wealthy, transnational criminals, multinational companies, and even world leaders.  One question often asked when the documents were released “where are the Americans?” the answer simply is that Americans don’t need to go abroad to set up anonymous shell companies.  It is, unfortunately, much easier for Americans to set them up onshore—in states like Nevada, Wyoming, and Delaware.

Read More

Just the FACTs: December 9, 2016

For more than a decade we have seen a steep climb in the amount of money kept offshore by multinational companies.  This has resulted in $2.5 Trillion to remain untaxed—at an estimated cost of $700 billion to the US Treasury.  Throughout the 2016 election, both presidential candidates pledged to close loopholes that allow corporations to dodge taxes and stop companies from booking their profits overseas.  Though the follow-through has yet to be seen.  Many have even argued that Donald Trump’s victory was the result of a frustrated middle class that increasingly feels over-burdened, while they see the wealthy and corporations—following their own set of rules—shifting their responsibilities onto them.

A new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund finds that multinational companies dodge an estimated $147 billion in federal and state taxes annually through offshore tax haven loopholes, shifting that burden instead onto small businesses and individual taxpayers.  Titled “Picking Up the Tab 2016: Small Businesses Bear the Burden for Offshore Tax Havens,” the study estimates that each small business, on average, owes $5,186 more on its annual tax bill to collectively make up for the federal and state corporate tax revenue lost to offshore tax havens.

Read More

Study Highlights How Rigged Tax Code Hurts Small Business, Middle Class Americans

Multinational Companies Dodging $147 Billion Annually in State and Federal Taxes through Offshore Tax Schemes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund finds that multinational companies dodge an estimated $147 billion in federal and state taxes annually through offshore tax haven loopholes.  The report explains the staggering cost to small businesses and individual taxpayers, who are forced to shoulder the increased tax burden.

Read More

Just the FACTs: November 28, 2016

Increasingly the issues of tax avoidance and financial secrecy are drawing the attention of a broader audience.  Both issues were repeatedly mentioned throughout the presidential election by both candidates.  Donald Trump’s original tax plan even went as far as to end deferral, though updates to the plan in September omitted any position on it.  With the results of the election in, FACT and our members are analyzing what they mean for reform here at home.  More on that in the weeks to come.

The EU commission’s decision in August to force Apple to pay back $14 billion in dodged taxes to Ireland served as a wake-up call to many investors—tax avoidance is a serious risk.  A recent article in the Financial Times, explained how several major funds and investment groups are deeply concerned with companies’ increasing reliance on tax avoidance schemes.  One such fund, Nordea Asset Management—has written to a number of companies—including Alphabet and Apple.  In the letter, they ask that companies lay out their tax risks and that—if they don’t comply by January—they “will rally other investors and propose shareholder resolutions in 2017.”  Four other fund houses in the UK—representing almost £1tn of assets—have also written to the board of Alphabet to raise concerns about its tax arrangements.

 

Read More

Just the FACTs: October 18, 2016

There’s been a lot of talk recently about how the tax system is rigged.  More and more we are seeing that wealthy individuals and powerful multinational companies are able to play by their own set of rules.  According to a new report by FACT members Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), and U.S. PIRG, Fortune 500 companies are now holding $2.5 trillion offshore. By shifting their profits to tax havens, these U.S. companies have been able to avoid $718 billion in taxes. The legal loopholes that allow these companies to avoid their taxes are simply unavailable to average taxpayers and small businesses, who can’t afford to hire the lawyers and accountants to move money through shell companies created in tax havens.

The U.S. Treasury Department took a modest step toward countering corporate tax avoidance Thursday night by issuing a new rule aimed at preventing a tax dodging technique known as “earnings stripping.” While FACT members are still in the process of reviewing the 518-page measure, the rule is estimated to close about $600 million per year in offshore tax avoidance loopholes.

Read More
Treasury Department

Coalition Welcomes Rule to Stem Multinational Corporate Tax Avoidance

Treasury Finalizes Anti-Inversion Rules Tackling “Earnings Stripping”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Treasury finalized a long-awaited rule Thursday aimed at countering multinational tax avoidance, in a move welcomed by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition).

Read More