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Tax Reform

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.

 

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Tax Notes Op-Ed: What Apple Teaches About How Not to Reform Corporate Taxes

In this article—originally published in Tax Notes—FACT Executive Director Gary Kalman uses the recent Apple tax ruling by the European Commission to identify problems with proposals for a territorial tax system in the United States. He argues that policymakers should instead focus on ending deferral, requiring public country-by-country reporting, and adopting provisions of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.

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FACT Sheet: Questions & Answers about Territorial Corporate Tax Systems

A central theme of corporate tax reform is how to create a system that works in a global economy. Several proposals have called for a territorial corporate tax system — a system in which a company only pays taxes on what it claims as profits in a given country rather than looking at the companies’ global footprint.

Below are questions and answers about territorial tax systems as outlined in recent reform proposals.

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Just the FACTs: August 19, 2016

In May, the Treasury Department released a final rule that was meant to increase scrutiny on banks to know the customers with which they do business.  Despite the fact that we believe the Treasury rule should have been much stronger, banks are on the front-line of the battle against terror financing and criminal money laundering and do have real anti-money laundering obligations.  But, there’s just one problem.  Banks are having a tough time verifying who their customers are because incorporating a company in the U.S. doesn’t require owners to disclose their real names.  Banks are now asking that the federal government change that.

The Clearing House Association, which represents the largest commercial banks, sent a letter to congressional lawmakers in support of the bipartisan Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act (H.R.4450, S.2489). The Clearing House includes major banks like Bank of America, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. As FACT member  Global Witness explains, “without a way to ensure there’s comprehensive collection of beneficial ownership information for U.S. companies, it will be hard for banks to comply with new regulations that require them to find out who are the beneficial owners of their corporate clients.”

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Tax Reform Should Close Offshore Loopholes, End Tax Haven Abuse

FACT Coalition Submits Comments to House Ways and Means Committee Ahead of International Tax Reform Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of a planned hearing on international tax reform, the FACT (Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency) Coalition today submitted comments to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means urging lawmakers to focus reform efforts on closing offshore loopholes and ending tax haven abuse.

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