Changes to the Security and Exchange Commission’s disclosure requirements for U.S. corporations should include annual country-by-country reporting on activities in foreign countries, urged Americans for Tax Fairness in comments signed by nearly 18,000 supporters.

ATF also submitted separate comments to the SEC, which can be found here.

“Without this improved transparency, corporations will be free to continue their massive use of tax havens. And such corporate tax dodging means you and I are forced to pick up their tab,” said American for Tax Fairness Executive Director Frank Clemente. “If this rule gets approved, for the first time it would provide true transparency about this massive tax-dodging scheme. And that will provide momentum to end the use of these offshore tax loopholes once and for all.”

November 2 was the deadline for public comments on the SEC’s proposed amendments to its disclosure requirements. (S7-15-16).

ATF collected nearly 18,000 signatures in support of the following comment:

Offshore tax dodging by multinational corporations loses more than $100 billion a year in revenue, money that is desperately needed to invest in America – rebuilding roads and bridges, educating our children, researching new medical cures and so much more.

That is why I am writing to strongly urge the SEC to include in your proposed rule (S7-15-16) a requirement that U.S. corporations publicly disclose on an annual country-by-country basis their activities in foreign countries.

Specifically, I believe corporations should be required to publicly disclose their foreign revenues, profit or loss before taxes, income tax paid, effective tax rate, accumulated profits, and number of employees. In addition to country-by-country disclosure, corporations should be required to calculate and disclose the aggregate amount they would owe in U.S. taxes should their offshore profits be repatriated to America.

Greater corporate transparency is critical for investors, lawmakers and the general public. We need to know where U.S. corporations are operating, whether they are making significant profits in tax havens, how much tax – if any – they are paying on those profits, and the taxes they owe to the United States.