WASHINGTON – Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and the Financial Accountability & Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition today released a letter signed by 42 organizations calling on Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to co-sponsor the Sequester Delay and Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which was introduced today by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
The bill would solve the single most pressing issue in Congress by fully eliminating the automatic discretionary spending cuts known as the sequester for 2014 and 2015 and reduce the cuts by $38.6 billion in 2016.
In order to achieve this goal, the legislation would raise $220 billion over 10 years by closing numerous tax loopholes that encourage U.S. corporations to move jobs, profits and operations offshore and avoid paying their fair share of taxes. In some years large, profitable corporations have used offshore tax loopholes to avoid paying any federal income taxes at all.
By eliminating the sequester cuts, the legislation would prevent further weakening of government services that have sustained American families during the prolonged economic downturn. While American corporations book record profits and many of them hide profits offshore, American families still struggle in an economy with weak job growth. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if the sequester is allowed to go into effect it would cost an additional 800,000 jobs. The legislation announced today would help prevent job loss and would stimulate the economy.
According to a recent poll by Americans for Tax Fairness, the public overwhelmingly approves, by a margin of 62% to 36%, of “clos[ing] tax loopholes that allow corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying U.S. taxes by shifting income to offshore tax havens.” And by 50% to 34%, voters want to “Cancel the spending cuts and replace them with new tax revenue from the wealthy and corporations,” rather than “Allow the full spending cuts to take effect.”
In the joint letter addressed to the House of Representatives, the 42 organizations strongly urge Members to co-sponsor the Sequester Delay and Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. They write that “Cracking down on offshore tax abuses should be at the top of the congressional “to do” list. Congress should close these loopholes regardless of the nation’s fiscal health, but with another year of indiscriminate across-the-board cuts looming, it is imperative that lawmakers act now.”
For press inquiries:
TJ Helmstetter
Communications Director
Email: thelmstetter@americansfortaxfairness.org
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Americans for Tax Fairness is a diverse coalition of more than 325 national and state organizations that collectively represent tens of millions of members. The organization was formed on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. ATF is playing a central role in Washington and in the states on federal tax-reform issues.