Taxing America's Patience, Part 7

Here's a nice little article to reference next time one of those mouth-breathing teabaggers screams TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY and WE CAN'T AFFORD IT.  The reason is because the world's one percenters are holding some $32 trillion in tax havens to avoid paying anything in taxes.

The Tax Justice Network’s report estimates that unreported offshore wealth held in tax havens has reached at least $21 trillion, and possibly as much as $32 trillion. That wealth means that the problem of inequality in wealth and income is actually worse than suspected, the group says.

It also means that many countries are losing out on tax revenue that could go a long way toward alleviating their national fiscal problems, the report’s authors suggest. The largest previous estimate of the problem – also by Tax Justice Network, in 2005 – was about $11.5 trillion, the report says.

The report considers the impacts of a range of offshore abuses, including unreported capital flows and under-taxed corporate profits. It places considerable blame on big multinational banks and other financial institutions that are integral to the process of shifting money to offshore tax havens.

The “huge, secretive offshore industry has truly become the dark side of globalization,” the report concludes. It urges renewed efforts by developed countries to gain a handle on the problem.

And remember, it's unreported wealth.  Nobody pays a dime in taxes on it because it doesn't exist.  Naturally, conservatives are howling.

But some tax experts – particularly conservatives – expressed skepticism at the size of the new estimate. Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, compared the report’s findings to some estimates of climate change.

And Andrew Quinlan, president of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a group that promotes international tax competition and financial privacy, said, “Tax Justice Network and other opponents of tax competition assume that all earnings belong first to governments, which is why they seek to prevent even legal wealth management techniques if they result in less money for spend-happy politicians.”

Yes, because it's so awful paying zero taxes on $32 trillion.  The job creator class will get around to creating those jobs at any second now.   If that pile of money, twice as much money as it would take to pay off our entire national debt by the way, was taxed at even 3%. we'd have no deficit problem in the US.

Instead, the numbers have to be a lie just like climate change because SHUT UP THAT'S WHY GET BACK TO WORK.  Meanwhile, let's cut more teachers, police, and firefighters so we can give the one percenters even more money.  You know, so they can go hide it offshore like Mitt Romney, pay zero taxes on it, and then complain about how parasites like us are draining them dry.

Until they have everything, and we have nothing.