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.”
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) testified in front of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe or the Helsinki Commission at a hearing on combating kleptocracy with incorporation transparency.
The FACT Coalition joined 100 other groups in sending a letter to Congress on Monday, October 2, 2017 opposing a proposal to allow multinationals to pay low-to-no taxes on the profits they booked offshore, also known as a “territorial tax system.”
Boosting Tax Transparency to Guard Investors, Protect Taxpayers, and Inform Policymakers
Disclosing more information on where companies book profits, record revenues, and pay taxes would protect taxpayers by discouraging abusive tax avoidance schemes; protect shareholders by providing them with information about the risks associated with their investments; and inform policymakers as Congress considers overhauling the U.S. tax code.
The Panama Papers leak of eleven million documents in April 2016 revealed that former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the brother-in-law of Chinese President Xi Jinping, longtime friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, drug kingpins, and even a soccer megastar had something in common: they all channeled money through anonymous shell companies. Anonymous shell companies are entities that usually employ few or no workers, do not conduct any substantive business, and allow their owners to store or route money while hiding their identities.
The conversation about the dangers of anonymous companies has largely focused on corrupt foreign leaders and threats to national security, human trafficking, and disruption to business. Additional harms include bidding up prices that fuel the loss of affordable housing, environmental degradation, and tax evasion.
