IRS: World economy helps rich avoid taxes

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Everson testified to the investigative subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which concluded a yearlong study of offshore tax shelters. They concluded that offshore tax havens allow the wealthy to stash trillions of dollars, mostly impervious to tax, regulatory and law enforcement authorities.

The panel said the havens allow Americans to avoid paying $40 billion to $70 billion in taxes each year, with the help of "an armada" of professional advisers.

Everson said some of the abuses could be tempered if lawmakers changed laws that can protect shelter users from some penalties if an attorney gives a legal opinion in favor of the transaction.

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It's quite interesting that the headline essentially blames the problem on the vague, almost Mother Nature like, metaphysical force known by most as "the economy." Obviously, that's a propagandistic lie. Yes, the nature of the economy, as currently constructed by the wealthy elites who control it, does indeed allow corporations and the rich to stash their cash out of the IRS's reach. But a few simple laws, promoting transparancy in financial transactions and dramatically increasing penalties for lawbreakers, could easily turn the situation around. It's not the mysterious power of economics causing the problem. It's policy, conscious decisions made by our government about how to deal with tax collection. It doesn't have to be this way.

Also, bear in mind that the United States, at great cost in terms of infrastructure, legal systems, and police protection, created the circumstances by which these fortunes were originally made. These wealthy deadbeats fucking owe this money. It's not rightfully theirs. Personally, in principle, I see very little difference between this kind of crime and robbing a liquor store. Well, okay, the difference is scale, which makes these tax cheats far worse criminals.

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