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Now it looks as if the Senate is clamping down on some of those overseas tax shelters that the wealthy like to stick their cash into.
Three senators, Carl M. Levin (D-MI), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), are proposing a bill that would clamp down on the $100 billion a year that the treasury loses in tax revenue because of the loopholes in the tax laws which make the overseas investments so attractive.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The measure would impose tougher requirements on U.S. taxpayers using offshore secrecy jurisdictions, give the U.S. Treasury the authority to take action against foreign jurisdictions that impede tax enforcement, stiffen penalties against abusers and close offshore trust loopholes.
The Treasury Department and top lawmakers in both houses of Congress have made a priority this year reducing the so-called tax gap, the difference between what individuals and companies owe and what they pay. The IRS said a study of 2001 tax returns shows the tax gap is about $345 billion a year, only $55 billion of which is recovered.
The only problem with this legislation is the fact that even if it does as promised, another way will be found to get around the measure. It seems that for every tax loophole closed, another one or two takes its place, so what's the point?
