Offshore Tax Havens Cost Average Maryland Taxpayer $1,065 a Year, Maryland Small Business $3,245

April 15, Baltimore – On Tax Day, it’s a good time to be reminded of where our tax dollars are going. Maryland PIRG  released its  annual study showing the average Maryland  taxpayer in 2012 would have to shoulder an extra $1,065 in taxes to make up for the revenue lost due to the use of offshore tax havens by corporations and wealthy individuals.

“Tax dodging is not a victimless offense. When companies use accounting gimmicks to move their profits to tax haven shell companies, the rest of us have to pick up the tab,” said Jenny Levin, State Advocate for Maryland PIRG. “With the nation facing such serious budget challenges, it’s a no-brainer that we need to close these loopholes and stop letting large corporations avoid paying what they should.”

Every year, corporations and wealthy individuals avoid paying an estimated $150 billion in taxes by using complicated accounting tricks to shift their profits to offshore tax havens. Of that $150 billion, $90 billion is avoided specifically by corporations.

The federal revenue lost to offshore tax havens would be more than enough to cover the automatic federal budget cuts caused by the sequester. A recent  Maryland PIRG report also found that offshore tax dodging costs Maryland $966 million annually, a massive sum which could, for example, provide enough capital to match federal funding for highly desired transit projects like the Purple Line in the D.C. metro area or the Red Line in Baltimore.

The report additionally found that the average Maryland small business would have to pay $3,245 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 use tax havens and 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:

·         Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, made 40 percent of its sales in the U.S. over the past five years, but thanks to their use of offshore tax loopholes they reported no taxable income in the U.S. during that time. The company operates 172 subsidiaries in tax havens and has $73 billion parked offshore which remains untaxed by the U.S., according to its own SEC filing. That is the second highest amount of money sitting offshore for one U.S. multinational corporation.

·         Microsoft avoided $4.5 billion in federal income taxes over a three year period by using sophisticated accounting tricks to artificially shift its income to tax-friendly Puerto Rico. Microsoft maintains five tax haven subsidiaries and keeps 70 percent of its cash offshore, a total of $60.8 billion, on which it would otherwise owe $19.4 billion in U.S. taxes.

·         Citigroup – a bank that was bailed out by taxpayers during the financial meltdown of 2008 – maintains 20 subsidiaries in tax havens and has $42.6 billion sitting offshore, on which it would otherwise owe $$11.5 billion in taxes, according to its own SEC filing. Citigroup currently ranks eighth among U.S. multinationals for having the most money stashed offshore.

“It is appalling that these companies get out of paying for the nation’s infrastructure, education system, and security that help make them successful,” added Levin.

The report recommends closing a number of offshore tax loopholes. Many of these reforms are included in the Cut Unjustified Tax Loopholes Act (Senate Bill 268). Today, Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduces the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. This legislation closes offshore tax loopholes and requires country-by-country reporting of corporate tax payments to both developed and developing nations. Original cosponsors of the legislation include Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-8), Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-4), and Congressman Elijah Cummings, (D-7).