Tax

Many multinational corporations and wealthy Americans use accounting tricks and offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes on profits and income that they earned in the U.S. Right now these practices are perfectly legal - and that's the problem. Revenues that are earned from sales and work here in the United States are hidden overseas and it costs the U.S. up to $150 billion in lost tax revenue every single year.  When that burden is redistributed to individual taxpayers, through either increased taxes, cuts to public services, or growing national debt, it costs every Wisconsinite $773 per year. If the costs of corporate tax haven abuse were shifted to small businesses, it would cost every Wisconsin small business $2,746 per year.

This report reveals how abuse of tax loopholes hurts taxpayers not just once, but twice, as the state of Wisconsin lost an estimated $814 million in revenue in 2012 due to offshore tax dodging

Many corporations and wealthy individuals use offshore tax havens—countries with minimal or no taxes—to avoid paying $150 billion in U.S. taxes each year. By shielding their income from U.S. taxes, corporations and wealthy individuals shift the tax burden to ordinary Americans, who must pick up the tab in the form of cuts to public services, more debt, or higher taxes. The $150 billion lost annually to offshore tax havens is a lot of money, especially at a time of difficult budget choices. To put this sum in perspective, we present 16 potential ways that income could be used.