Advocates Applaud Bill to Stop Tax Haven Abuse

Arizona PIRG

Statement of Arizona PIRG Public Interest Advocate Serena Unrein on the introduction of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act:

“No company or individual should be able to game the tax system to avoid paying what they legitimately owe. And, yet, establishing shell companies in off-shore havens for the purpose of tax avoidance is becoming more the rule than the exception for at least 83 of the nation’s top 100 publicly traded companies.

Earlier this year, we reported that off-shore tax havens cost the average Arizona taxpayer $290 in additional tax burdens each year.

The Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act is a timely and critically important proposal that seeks to stem flight of capital from this country. The bill will force open and honest accounting of profits. It will put an end to the price and profit shifting that allows companies to engage in such pervasive tax avoidance.

Companies such as GE, Google, Goldman Sachs and dozens of others well-known to most Americans have created hundreds of phantom entities with nothing more than a clever tax attorney and post office box.

Official estimates on how much we lose in tax revenue are between $70 and $100 billion per year. That’s money that is shouldered by average taxpayers in Arizona and across the country either through additional taxes today or additional debt to be paid by the next generation of taxpayers.

These companies benefit from access to our infrastructure, an educated workforce and national security and pay little or nothing for it.

We applaud Senator Levin for putting forth a strong and well-timed proposal. We urge Congress to pass the Stop Tax Havens Abuse Act.”

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