As Congress and President Barack Obama continue to clash over end-of-the-year budget talks, an anti-poverty network on Thursday urged the federal government to find savings by closing offshore tax loopholes.
The Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of religious denominations, human rights groups and development agencies focusing on global poverty, said Thursday that at least 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations in the US—including Walmart, Coca Cola and Pfizer—make use of tax havens. More than half of all banking assets and a third of multinational company investments routed through them.
"If corporations paid the $150 billion in taxes that they avoid per year through offshore tax loopholes it would more than cover the $109 billion in automatic spending cuts that are set to begin on January 1, 2013," said a release from the Jubilee USA Network. "These loopholes allow many of America’s largest corporations and wealthiest individuals to avoid taxes by using accounting gimmicks to shift profits made in America to offshore tax havens, where they pay little to no taxes."
The release continued:
It is estimated that for every $10 a country receives in development aid, $15 exits the country as a result of tax dodging. Corporations are operating in developing countries and robbing resources by using offshore tax havens to hide their money instead of paying their taxes—curbing this behavior at home sends a message that it should not be tolerated around the world.