I've been only partially paying attention to these hearings, but I wonder if bank privacy and Bush anti-terrorism measures have been discussed.
The Swamp - Chicago Tribune - Blogs.
“Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools and Secrecy”
That was the title of a hearing held Tuesday by the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.The hearing examined how wealthy Americans avoid taxes by funneling assets through off-shore locations like the Cayman Islands, Togo and the Isle of Man. Money launderers have also found them to be very handy places.
Such havens have an estimated $11.8 trillion in rich people's assets, according to one estimate. A new 401-page report [PDF] by congressional investigators says the estimated loss to the U.S. Treasury is between $40 billion and $70 billion of revenues annually.
These tax havens have been recognized as a problem for decades. As the staff's report mentioned, the same subcommittee in 1983 examined many “similar” problems.
I was struck by the word “enablers” in the title of the hearing. I wondered if the report identified the Bush administration as one of such enabler since critics have said the administration has failed to move aggressively to crack down on the use of havens by wealthy American taxpayers.
Back in July 2001, after attending another congressional hearing on the issue, I wrote an article on off-shore tax havens which mentioned the Bush administration's opposition to international efforts to make these havens more transparent. In part, there was a reluctance, stated by President Bush's first Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill to dictate to another nation “what the structure of its tax code should be, period.”
Conservatives also balked because of privacy concerns.
But there was no mention that I could find in the lengthy congressional report of the administration being an enabler in the tax-haven problem.
(more here)
The rich do have different rules applied to them, no doubt, and being a Republican corporate donor helps as well. Add to the 'faux Christian' file.
