Offshore Tax Havens Stole $915 million From Kentucky Last Year
Kentucky's FY 2008 deficit is $459 million. That's just a little more than half of what offshore tax havens stole from Kentucky taxpayers last year.
A Senate report estimated in 2008 that the United States loses up to $100 billion a year in tax revenue to offshore tax havens (PDF 2MG). In a report released Wednesday, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group offers a state-by-state breakdown of the cost to taxpayers of tax revenue lost to "shell companies and sham headquarters" in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
The practice soaks dutiful taxpayers in every state for hundreds of millions of dollars, according to U.S. PIRG. The citizens of New York and Texas shoulder over $8 billion a year, and the good people of California are on the hook for an extra $11 billion.
Click here for U.S. PIRG's table with the state-by-state breakdown of the burden shifted to taxpayers.
SNIP
The tax day release of the report coincides with protests at post offices across the country coordinated by the Campaign to Rebuild and Renew America Now, a coalition of groups supporting the president's budget priorities. Obama's budget calls for reigning in offshore tax havens.
In a speech on Tuesday, Obama talked about "shutting down loopholes and making sure everyone pays what they owe."
"The point is that we all pay for it," says John Krieger, a staff attorney with U.S. PIRG. "The issues of tax havens, tax avoidance -- the reason they've had so much cover is that we all think of it as a D.C wonky issue, but in reality it has an effect on every taxpayer who has to take on this extra burden."
Read the whole thing.
Posts
4 comments:
Funds for individuals get overseas as well.
For instance:
Sell a property.
Pay Capital gains tax on the spot.
Take a trip to the Caribean, any island will do.
Remove check for proceeds of sale from pocket while in bank.
Open bank account there.
Using internet, transfer funds to non-U.S. ranch of bank.
Receive debit card (Visa, MasterCard) in mail. Interest replenishes account.
IRS never sees the capital or the interest.
Mother does this couple of times yearly.
This is the one that must be stopped. Nothing inappropriate about addressing PIRG's matter, but this one drains much more than the other.
So now we see that not only do rich people want their tax rates set lower than ours - they don't even intend to pay the taxes no matter what the rate is.
I think a bit of class warfare is in order here. We've been scared off it during the Bush admin because the neocons made it sound like such an AWFUL thing - but ya know, maybe it's time. Back in the 60's, we wore T-shirts that read "Eat the Rich". Maybe that's the only way rich people can contribute to the general welfare of our society.
Though really, I think making dog food out of them would be better - I mean really, would YOU like to eat some of those fat bastards?
Seriously, this is why the flat-tax concept has never caught on. If there is a flat income tax, with minimal allowable deductions, the rich bastards no longer can dodge their taxes.
We're reaching a point where some of these sociological fantasies are not going to be fantasies any longer. Most of us are still way too complacent, but some folks are getting up in arms.
Remember Star Trek? Remember the Earth they represented? They didn't make a real big deal out of the politics of Earth, but on the few occasions they DID mention what life was like on Earth, it sounded like it was a relatively plutocrat-free planet.
Maybe we can make that part of the fantasy come true.
But in any case, the shit we're living under now HAS to stop. I mean, it's only been status quo for maybe 8000 years now, but that doesn't mean it's part of the natural law.
Greed is NOT good. It's up to us - the "lower classes" - to make this axiom clear to the plutes.
Bimbeau - your mother really does this? She should be ashamed.
As Mr. Spock of Star Trek once put it so wisely: "The needs of the many far outweigh the wants of the few." TAX THE RICH, FEED THE POOR!!!
A-min!
Lacking any familiarity with Dr.Spock, other than ex-wife liked to read and quote him ...
Leave it to Jack to be succinct.
Post a Comment