Taxpayers rally to close offshore tax havens

By JACOB KOETSIER

New Jersey taxpayers gathered at the New Brunswick post office earlier this month to show their support for President Barack Obama's plan to help restore fairness to the tax code by putting an end to offshore tax havens for corporate America.

Hailed as a blueprint for long-term economic prosperity, New Jersey taxpayers urged lawmakers to pass the president's budget plan that will grow the economy for the rest of America through transformational investments in health care reform, education and clean energy.

Major U.S. corporations avoid as much as $100 billion a year in federal taxes by hiding profits in foreign countries. According to a US PIRG report titled "Tax Shell Game: The Taxpayer Cost of Offshore Corporate Tax Havens, " this loophole results in an additional tax burden of $4.49 billion for taxpayers here in New Jersey.

President Obama wants to fix a tax code that has been carved and twisted by banks and corporations. This year should be the last Tax Day when high-priced accountants and secret post office boxes are valued over hard work and accountability."

At the event, advocates from the Renew and Rebuild America Now Campaign (http://www.rebuildandrenew.org/), a coalition of 114 national organizations working togetherto pass President Obama's budget blueprint, asked taxpayers dropping off their federal returns to call their representatives in Congress and encourage support for Obama's plan.

More than 80 percent of the largest companies in the U.S. hide profits in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens. The companies include American Express, A.I.G, Boeing, Cisco, Dow, Hewlett-Packard, J.P. Morgan Chase and Pfizer. In fact, more than 18,000 U.S. companies currently maintain a post office box in one five-story building in the Cayman Islands to take advantage of the loophole.

Obama's budget proposal, which is working its way toward final passage in the Congress, recommends closing this outrageous loophole and giving additional tax relief to middle-class taxpayers.