Pssst... Want to Rent a PO Box?

Most of us will have paid our taxes by the end of this day, but according to this 2008 GAO report, there are 18,857 businesses in one building alone that have escaped at least some of their tax burden, effectively shifting it to the rest of us. The building is located in the Cayman Islands, one of several tax havens used by U.S. corporations to game the system. In fact, 80% of the biggest corporations in the country "maintain revenues in offshore tax havens" according to another report from the GAO, this one published 4 months ago.

The non-profit, U.S. Public Interest Research Group has just released their findings detailing the actual costs of these income diversions to the citizens of each state. NC taxpayers are paying an extra $2,714,193,086 each year because of these practices.

Last year, Congress responded to public pressure and passed the HEART Act, which closed the loophole that allowed government contractors to use offshore subsidiaries to avoid paying payroll taxes on their employees. This year, the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act has been reintroduced in Congress, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner recently testified to the Senate Finance Committee that

"Over the next several months, the President will propose a series of legislative and enforcement measures to reduce such U.S. tax evasion and avoidance. Some proposals will focus on the rules in our tax code that put those who invest and create jobs in the United States at a disadvantage. We will propose rules to both reform U.S. corporations’ ability to defer foreign earnings and deter high income individuals and corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxation."

Just in case someone has the temerity to defend this foolishness, the IRS has created a policy page explaining the indefensibility of these abuses:

Though promoters of offshore schemes often advance technical arguments, which purport to show that their scheme is legal, the intent of Congress remains clear. U.S. taxpayers are not to be allowed to evade taxes by shifting their own liability to some foreign entity.

So you should feel good about having paid your taxes this year! If there's any money left over, why not treat yourself to dinner and a movie -- how about Pirates of the Caribbean?