Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tax havens
Posted by:
Hammer / 8:50 AM
Is
something better than nothing? I dunno:
Now, a pioneer opponent of tax evasion through tax havens, Sen. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan, has joined with Sen. Norm Coleman (R) of Minnesota to sponsor the Tax Shelter and Tax Haven Reform Act. It would enable the Treasury secretary to designate a tax haven as "uncooperative" with Internal Revenue Service investigations. Though not a panacea, the bill, soon to be reintroduced in the current Congress, would give tax investigators a weapon: Income from such designated tax havens would lose some tax advantages.
It's hard to say what the bill would actually do. I'm afraid that the bill will simply add legitimacy to tax traitors by defining cooperative havens. I've quoted everything the article has to say about the legislation, so I can't say whether Smilin' Norm is supporting legitimate reform or feathering his nest with the appearance of reform. You already know my guess.