Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion
September 3, 2010 - R40623

The federal government loses both individual and corporate income tax revenue from the shifting of profits and income into low-tax countries, often referred to as tax havens. The revenue losses from this tax avoidance and evasion are difficult to estimate, but some have suggested that the annual cost of offshore tax abuses may be around $100 billion per year. International tax avoidance can arise from large multinational corporations who shift profits into low-tax foreign subsidiaries or wealthy individual investors who set up secret bank accounts in tax haven countries. Recent actions by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the G-20 industrialized nations have targeted tax haven countries, focusing primarily on evasion issues. The recently adopted HIRE Act (P.L. 111-147) included a number of anti-evasion provisions, and P.L. 111-226 included foreign tax credit provisions. Some of these proposals, and some not adopted, are in the American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213); the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (S. 506, H.R. 1265); draft proposals by the Senate Finance Committee; two other related bills, S. 386 and S. 569; the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act (S. 3018); and proposals by President Obama. Multinational firms can artificially shift ...

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