Emily Scarr
State Director, Maryland PIRG; Director, Stop Toxic PFAS Campaign, PIRG
State Director, Maryland PIRG; Director, Stop Toxic PFAS Campaign, PIRG
Maryland PIRG
April 15 – As hardworking Americans file their taxes today, it’s a good time to be reminded of how ordinary taxpayers pick up the tab for the loopholes in our tax laws. Maryland PIRG released a new study which revealed that the average Maryland taxpayer in 2013 would have to shoulder an extra $1,259 in taxes to make up for the revenue lost due to the use of offshore tax havens by corporations and wealthy individuals.
“Average taxpayers and small business owners foot the bill for offshore tax dodging. Every dollar in taxes companies avoid by booking profits to shell companies in tax havens must be balanced by cuts to public programs, higher taxes for the rest of us, or more debt,” said Maryland PIRG Director Emily Scarr.
Every year, corporations and wealthy individuals avoid paying an estimated $184 billion in state and federal income taxes by using complicated accounting tricks to shift their profits to offshore tax havens. Of that $184 billion, $110 billion is avoided specifically by corporations.
In early April, the Senate Finance Committee voted to renew two especially egregious offshore loopholes which will cost $8 billion in lost revenue over the next two years.
“The Senate Finance Committee, where our own Senator Cardin serves, squandered an opportunity to stand with regular taxpayers who can’t marshal armies of lawyers and lobbyists to bend the tax code to their whim. Unfortunately, they caved to special interest pressure,” said Scarr.
The report additionally found that the average Maryland small business would have to pay $4,118 to cover the cost of offshore tax dodging by large corporations. Offshore tax havens give large multinationals a competitive advantage over responsible small businesses which don’t have subsidiaries in tax havens to reduce their tax bills. Small businesses get stuck footing the bill for corporate tax dodging.
Many of America’s largest and best-known corporations use these complex tax avoidance schemes to shift their profits offshore and drastically shrink their tax bill. GE, Microsoft, and Pfizer boast the largest offshore cash hoards:
The report recommends closing a number of offshore tax loopholes. Many of these reforms are included in the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, introduced by Sen. Levin in the Senate (S.1533) and Rep. Doggett in the House (H.R. 1554) (cosponsored by MD Reps. Van Hollen, Cummings, and Edwards).
Maryland can also take measures to reclaim some of the revenue lost to tax havens. Maryland PIRG found that by passing a simple, proven reform already on the books in other states, Maryland could save $27.3 million annually.
“Picking up the Tab: Average Citizens and Small Businesses Pay the Price for Offshore Tax Havens.”
An earlier study showing how states can crack down on offshore tax dodging.
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Maryland PIRG, the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization that takes on powerful interests on behalf of its members, working to win concrete results for our health and well-being.