"galling outcome given deep cuts being proposed to many programs that benefit ordinary Americans"
. . .
Abuse of tax havens inflicts a price on other American taxpayers, who must pay higher taxes—now or in the future—to cover the government’s revenue shortfall, or must deal with cuts in government services.
The United States loses approximately $100 billion in tax revenues every year due to corporations and individuals sending their money to offshore tax havens.
• In 2010, making up for this lost revenue cost the average U.S. tax filer $434. That’s enough money to feed a family of four for three weeks.
• The taxpayers who pick up the largest share of the tab live in Delaware and New Jersey. On average, tax filers in those states paid an additional $920 and $752, respectively.
Some of America’s biggest companies—including many who have taken advantage of government bailouts or rely on government contracts—use tax havens. As of 2008, 83 of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations maintain revenues in offshore tax haven countries.
• Goldman Sachs, which reported more than $2 billion in profit in 2008, was able to use its 29 tax haven subsidiaries to reduce its federal tax bill to just $14 million. That means that Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who made $42.9 million that year, earned more than three times the amount that the company paid in federal taxes.
. . .
When corporations and wealthy individuals avoid paying taxes, ordinary taxpaying households and small businesses end up picking up the tab for the missing revenue to the U.S. Treasury—an especially galling outcome given the deep cuts being proposed to many programs that benefit ordinary Americans.
The whole maddening, disgusting thing here (
note: the article is from 2011 - no doubt the problem has only gotten much WORSE since then):
http://publicintelligence.net/many-u-s-comapnies-use-tax-havens-to-avoid-paying-taxes/
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