Debate Over Senate Offshore Hearing
by: Martin Lukac
The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has attacked the Senate hearing into offshore tax havens as being completely "one-sided".
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is currently conducting a hearing into "Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, the Tools and Secrecy."
"Using offshore jurisdictions to shelter income is unfair and I intend to fix this problem," stated Subcommittee Chairman Norm Coleman (R-Minn).
Ranking Minority Member Carl Levin (D- Mich) agreed.
"Our investigation blows the lid off tax haven abuses that use sham trusts, shell corporations and fake economic transactions to hide the fact that US citizens are controlling offshore assets, circumventing US legal requirements and dodging taxes," Levin said.
The Subcommittee has heard testimony from IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, as well as many promoters and clients of tax-planning schemes that have been found abusive.
A 400-page report is the product of the hearing. It is said to "expose how offshore and US professionals are helping US citizens move assets offshore and dodge US taxes, adding to tax haven abuses that cost US taxpayers and estimated $40 to $70 billion dollars each year.
The report recommends that US tax, securities and anti-money laundering laws should include a presumption that offshore trusts and shell corporations are under control of the US person directing the use of the assets.
The report suggests that any offshore trust or shell corporation related to a director, officer or large shareholder of a US publicly traded corporation should be treated as an affiliate of that corporation.
There are many other suggestions included in the report, aiming to stop the abuse of offshore havens.
The Subcommittee report is heavily criticized by right-wing policy institutes.
"Companies have a fiduciary obligation to shareholders to minimize their tax burdens," said Andrew Quinlan of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. "Because of the punitive tax rates and pervasive double-taxation of capital in the US tax code, low-tax jurisdictions often are excellent platforms for economic activity. So-called tax havens also play a valuable role by encouraging better tax policy in the rest of the world."
About The Author:
Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!
August 2006
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of BIZBUD.com and/or its partners.
Unless otherwise stated, the contents of this site are
Copyright © 2006 BIZBUD.com - All rights reserved.
Articles are copyright materials of their respective authors.
|
