Report: Over 8 in 10 corporations have tax havens

[ck4829]

Eighty-three of the nation's 100 largest corporations, including Citigroup, Bank of America and News Corp., had subsidiaries in offshore tax havens in 2007, and some of the companies received federal bailout funding, a government watchdog said Friday.

The Government Accountability Office released a report that said Bank of America Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley all had more than 100 units in countries that maintain low or no taxes. The three financial institutions were included in the $700 billion financial bailout approved by Congress.

Insurance giant American International Group Inc., which has received about $150 billion in bailout money, had 18 subsidiaries. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had 50 units and Wells Fargo & Co. had 18; both financial institutions received government bailout money.

Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who requested the report, have pushed for tougher laws to fight offshore tax havens around the globe. Levin, who leads the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has estimated abusive tax havens and offshore accounts cost the U.S. government at least $100 billion a year in lost taxes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090117/ap_on_go_co/tax_havens

Why don't we call this for what it is, it is tax evasion, pure and simple.

[Coyote_Bandit]

1. I'm don't consider

multinationals to be US corporations.

If you want to know how US markets are doing look at US corporations doing business in the US under US laws selling to US consumers and utilizing US labor and resources. But you are not going to find an index of those corporations. Wonder why......

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. You are quite right

GM owns Volvo...its not exactly a tax dodge.

There are those companies and individuals that do use tax havens and do nothing else internationally. Those should be addressed, as well as the US tax code that makes that attractive.

[Broadslidin]

6. Ford Motor Co. has been attempting to unload Volvo for some time. Nobody is nibbling.

The only Ford Motor Co. debt collateral left in
North America is the oval name plate.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Here's a link to the companies that are screwing us. Many of them being "bailed out".

Scroll down to Index II

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/documents/GAOReportTaxHavens011609.pdf?sid=ST2009011603928&s_pos=list

[karynnj]

3. It is in all countries (except the tax havens themselves) to eliminate these shelters

It really is an international problem and it will require an international solution. (Also consider that the ability to hide income and assets to avoid taxes - also means it is a national security issue as it can facilitate international money laundering. That was discussed in the July 24 2008 Finance committee hearing on the Cayman Islands.

The most interesting parts are Jack Blum's and Senator Kerry's. Blum was Kerry's chief investigator on BCCI. Kerry in November ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ZlrbkdBNk ) spoke of using wanting to use his SFRC chair to investigate international tax havens. It would be great if he and Obama's foreign policy team could negotiate an international agreement on this.

[Broadslidin]

4. Obviously, U.S. 'Security Exchange Commission' filings are not worth the paper their written on.

Taking a look at the Ford Motor Co. SEC March '08 filing,
this corporation admits to short & long accumulated debt of
"$179 Billion".
No other corporation listed on the N.Y.S.E. comes close to
Ford Motor indebtedness.

General Motors Corporation:
currently claims to have $66 Billion total debt.

Cerberus Chrysler: Who knows?

Question:
As in the Enron Ponzi Accounting Scheme,
how much corporate debt is conveniently placed "off the Books"
in wholly owned (Private) offshore subsiduaries...?
(compliments of J.P. Morgan Chase Private Bank.)

Sign up for your favorite
"Ponzi Retirement Scheme" 401K today, Sucker....!

:argh: .