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Tax Avoidance

House Tax Plan Would Make Offshore Tax Avoidance Substantially Worse

The release of the Paradise Papers has once again brought the issue of offshore tax avoidance to the forefront of public discussion. The papers expose the complex structures that companies such as Apple and Nike have pursued in recent years to pay little to nothing in taxes on their offshore earnings.

Yet even as these revelations make headlines, House Republicans are moving forward with major tax legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that would reward the worst tax avoiders and make it even easier for multinational companies to avoid taxes.

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House Guts Safeguard, Increases Offshoring Incentives in Tax Bill

FACT Coalition Spokespeople Available to Comment on Tax Bills and Paradise Papers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s amendments to the proposed tax legislation Monday evening nearly eliminated a safeguard in the tax bill meant to discourage some shifting of profits offshore by multinational corporations according to a score by Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.

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New Offshore Leak Raises Concerns about House Tax Bill

Lawmakers Must Investigate How Proposed Legislation Will Address Offshore Loopholes Highlighted in New ‘Paradise Papers’ Leak
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new leak of documents from an offshore law firm, published by an international network of news outlets Sunday, expose a number of tax avoidance techniques used by the wealthy and multinational corporations to avoid taxes.

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House Bill a Gift to Offshore Tax Dodgers and Outsourcers

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.

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Territorial: The Hidden Danger Beneath the Tax Rate Debate

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.

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