The British Virgin Islands – the very name conjures up a Caribbean paradise of soft sand beaches, tropical breezes, and the leisurely island lifestyle. Surprisingly, though, this tiny spot is home to more than 400,000 major corporations!
Not that you’d find any factories, corporate headquarters, or even employees on the islands. Indeed, all 400,000 companies are located in one gray, two-story building in the town of Tortola. This is where the global giants register incorporation papers for their very special subsidiaries. You see, the place is a tax haven. By registering there, corporations can claim they are based on the islands – even though they do no business there – letting them dodge paying taxes back home.
This is the kind of scam that President Barack Obama intends to stop. He has recently proposed to close loopholes that allow such giants a Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Citigroup, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble to hide income in order to shirk their tax responsibilities to America.
Corporate America, whose lobbyists and political lapdogs plugged these loopholes into our tax code, has been frequent fliers to tax havens all over the world. Of the 100 largest U.S. corporations, 83 have created subsidiaries to stash profits abroad, located in such places as the Caribbean, Liechtenstein, the Philippines, Uruguay, and Labuan – wherever that is.
Citigroup, for example, has created 427 of these tax-avoidance subsidiaries! In the past six years, it has more than quadrupled the amount of profits it tucks into the havens, presently stashing nearly $23 billion there. Of course, this same Citigroup has taken a $45 billion bailout from us taxpayers.
To support the crackdown on this shameful corporate shell game, contact the Public Interest Research Group at www.uspirg.org.
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This is damned unAmerican. Dodging taxes while taking bailouts. And what about supporting our troops? I’m sure these companies have PR ready showing how they support the war effort, give to charity, etc. WHY NOT JUST PAY THE TAXES? ~sekanblogger
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
This makes me ill.
Wicked,
There’s much about the IRC that would make any thinking person ill; this is but one example that is far from the most extreme.
The genesis of the provisions in question lies in a foreign policy objective decades old, involving domestic corps investing in foreign countries to stimulate the economies of said countries. The breaks provided were modest. Now, of course, modest is not an accurate term; and, the abuse grows.
What is more sickening is the mantra of the Republicans that it is actually morally okay to not pay taxes.
While I have no problem with people trying to save from paying taxes and taking legitimate tax credits, I have a big problem when corporations have their hands out for tax dollar bailouts when they have billions in their tax havens.
But it seems the Republicans can only hear the whining of the wealthy and not the common taxpayers that have to pay their taxes regardless.
Where are those tea baggers when you need them?