"7 Deadly Sins America Commits Against Its Own People" By Paul Bucheit at AlterNet

[applegrove]

7 Deadly Sins America Commits Against Its Own People

By Paul Bucheit at AlterNet

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/7-deadly-sins-america-commits-against-its-own-people?paging=off

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5. Sin against the common good

A recent Tax Justice Network report placed total hidden offshore assets at somewhere between $21 trillion and $32 trillion. With about 40% of the world's Ultra High Net Worth Individuals in the U.S., up to $12.8 trillion of untaxed revenue sits overseas. Based on a historical 6% rate of return, this is a tax loss of up to $300 billion per year, money that should be paying for the public needs of education and infrastructure.

Tax avoidance is so appealing that 1,700 Americans renounced their citizenships last year. Like Eduardo Saverin, who benefited from America's research and technology and security to take billions from his 4% share in Facebook, and then skipped out on his tax bill.

Inexplicably, some have defended Saverin's actions, apparently failing to recognize one's obligation to pay for societal benefits. A Forbes writer said, "When individuals resist governmental hubris, we should exalt their actions." The American Thinker blog argued that "the U.S. tax code is so oppressive that smart and successful people like Saverin are compelled to renounce citizenship in order to keep more of their own hard-earned wages." Hard-earned, in truth, by the thousands of contributers to his social networking success.


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[Mnemosyne]

1. Good article. nt