Close Corporate Tax Loopholes

LOOPHOLES COST NEW JERSEYANS $5.4 BILLION

No company should be able to game the tax system to avoid paying what it legitimately owes. And, yet, establishing shell companies in offshore havens for the purpose of tax avoidance is becoming more the rule than the exception for at least 83 of the nation's top 100 publicly traded companies. GE, Google, Goldman Sachs and dozens of others have created hundreds of phantom entities with nothing more than a clever tax attorney and P.O. box.

The official estimate of how much Americans lose in tax revenue is $150 billion per year. That's money that is shouldered by average taxpayers, either through additional taxes today or additional debt to be paid by the next generation. It’s not illegal, but it’s not right. The result? The average New Jersey taxpayer paid $1,260 more this year to cover the $100 billion that GE and others that use offshore tax havens skipped out on. And small businesses and companies that don’t use these schemes have to struggle to compete with those that do.

Meanwhile, state legislatures and Congress are considering deep cuts for essential public programs — from education, to health care, to clean air and drinking water. They’re asking us to tighten our belts and make sacrifices, while giving the tax haven crew a free ride. We are pushing for common-sense changes that simply say that if corporations are based here and generate profits here, then they should, like all of us who earn income here, pay the taxes they owe.

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News Release | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Transportation

Reduction in Driving Likely to Continue

As the average number of miles driven by Americans heads into its eighth year of decline, a new report from the NJPIRG Law & Policy Center finds that the slowdown in driving is likely to continue. Baby Boomers are moving out of the phase in their life when they do the most commuting, while driving-averse Millennials move into that phase. These demographic changes will likely keep driving down for decades, according to the report, “A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future.”

Report | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Transportation

A New Direction

The Driving Boom—a six decade-long period of steady increases in per-capita driving in the United States—is over. Americans drive fewer total miles today than we did eight years ago, and fewer per person than we did at the end of Bill Clinton’s first term. The unique combination of conditions that fueled the Driving Boom—from cheap gas prices to the rapid expansion of the workforce during the Baby Boom generation—no longer exists. Meanwhile, a new generation—the Millennials—is demanding a new American Dream less dependent on driving.

Report | NJPIRG | Budget, Tax

Picking Up the Tab 2013

Some U.S.-based multinational firms and individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by using accounting tricks to shift profits made in America to offshore tax havens—countries with minimal or no taxes. They benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

News Release | NJPIRG | Budget, Tax

Offshore Tax Havens Cost Average NJ Taxpayer $1,260 a Year, NJ Small Business $3,941

With Tax Day approaching, it’s a good time to be reminded of where our tax dollars are going. NJPIRG and NJ Citizen Action were joined today by Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Mayor Ed Johnson of Asbury Park, and Jerome Beckman, owner of Beckman’s Newsstands, to release a new NJPIRG study on offshore tax dodging. The report revealed that the average New Jersey taxpayer in 2012 would have to shoulder an extra $1,260 in taxes to make up for the revenue lost due to the use of offshore tax havens by corporations and wealthy individuals.

News Release | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

New Jersey Receives a "C" in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

New Jersey received a “C” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to the fourth annual report of its kind by the NJPIRG Law & Policy Center.

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News Release | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Transportation

Reduction in Driving Likely to Continue

As the average number of miles driven by Americans heads into its eighth year of decline, a new report from the NJPIRG Law & Policy Center finds that the slowdown in driving is likely to continue. Baby Boomers are moving out of the phase in their life when they do the most commuting, while driving-averse Millennials move into that phase. These demographic changes will likely keep driving down for decades, according to the report, “A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future.”

News Release | NJPIRG | Budget, Tax

Offshore Tax Havens Cost Average NJ Taxpayer $1,260 a Year, NJ Small Business $3,941

With Tax Day approaching, it’s a good time to be reminded of where our tax dollars are going. NJPIRG and NJ Citizen Action were joined today by Senator Robert Menendez, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Mayor Ed Johnson of Asbury Park, and Jerome Beckman, owner of Beckman’s Newsstands, to release a new NJPIRG study on offshore tax dodging. The report revealed that the average New Jersey taxpayer in 2012 would have to shoulder an extra $1,260 in taxes to make up for the revenue lost due to the use of offshore tax havens by corporations and wealthy individuals.

News Release | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

New Jersey Receives a "C" in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

New Jersey received a “C” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to the fourth annual report of its kind by the NJPIRG Law & Policy Center.

News Release | NJPIRG | Budget, Tax

Senate Budget Debate Shows Bipartisan Support for Closing Offshore Tax Loopholes

A bipartisan group of senators agree that closing offshore tax loopholes, which allow large profitable companies to dodge billions in taxes, needs to be part of the budget. We applaud Sens. Levin (D-MI), McCain (R-AZ), and Whitehouse (D-RI) for proposing an amendment to the budget resolution that gives budget writers the authority to ‘end offshore tax abuses used by large corporations.’

News Release | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

Offshore Tax Dodging Saps $2.8 Billion from New Jersey’s Budget

NJPIRG, New Jersey Citizen Action, and the New Jersey Main Street Alliance came together at a Jersey City small business on 2/6/2013 to discuss a new NJPIRG study revealing that New Jersey lost $2.8 billion in state revenue due to offshore tax dodging in 2012.

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Report | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Transportation

A New Direction

The Driving Boom—a six decade-long period of steady increases in per-capita driving in the United States—is over. Americans drive fewer total miles today than we did eight years ago, and fewer per person than we did at the end of Bill Clinton’s first term. The unique combination of conditions that fueled the Driving Boom—from cheap gas prices to the rapid expansion of the workforce during the Baby Boom generation—no longer exists. Meanwhile, a new generation—the Millennials—is demanding a new American Dream less dependent on driving.

Report | NJPIRG | Budget, Tax

Picking Up the Tab 2013

Some U.S.-based multinational firms and individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by using accounting tricks to shift profits made in America to offshore tax havens—countries with minimal or no taxes. They benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

Report | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

Following the Money 2013

This is the fourth annual report card ranking of state government online spending transparency.

Report | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

The Hidden Cost of Offshore Tax Havens

Federal taxpayers are not the only victims of offshore tax havens. Tax havens deprive state governments of billions of dollars in badly needed revenues as well. Based how much income is federally reported in each state, and on state tax rates, it is possible to calculate how much each of the state governments lose as a result of offshore tax dodging.

Report | NJPIRG Law & Policy Center | Budget, Tax

Subsidizing Bad Behavior

BP’s recent $4.5 billion legal settlement with the Justice Department for its misdeeds in the Gulf oil spill was historic for being the largest ever criminal settlement. But it was historic for another reason as well—none of it is allowed to be tax deductible. Unfortunately, too many settlements for wrongdoing end up as tax deductions.

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Blog Post | Budget, Food

Farm Bill Still Giving Corporate Handouts to Big Ag | Jennifer Kim

The U.S. Senate passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill, and clearly it is still business as usual. The Farm Bill continues its bad habit of subsidizing a few commodity crops like corn and soy to the tune of billions of dollars. Current subsidies go to the largest agribusinesses, with three quarters of the subsidy payments going to fewer than 4% of U.S. farmers.

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Blog Post | Tax

Letter from Congressman Frank Pallone on the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act | Gideon Weissman

Letter from Congressman Frank Pallone to NJPIRG, announcing that he will become a cosponsor of H.R. 2669, the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. This bill will close a tax loophole that costs the American public more than $100 billion every single year. For more on NJPIRG's work on fair tax policy, see our tax issue page here: http://njpirg.org/topics/tax

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Blog Post | Budget

Problems With Privatized Law Enforcement's New Frontier | Phineas Baxandall

One in five Americans lives in a jurisdiction that outsources traffic ticketing this way, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, titled "Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead; The Risks of Privatizing Traffic Law Enforcement and How to Protect the Public." And a report released by the Justice Department suggests this trend may accelerate under the twin pressures of budget pressure and intense lobbying.

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Blog Post | Budget

Problems With Privatized Law Enforcement's New Frontier | Ed Mierzwinski

One in five Americans lives in a jurisdiction that outsources traffic ticketing this way, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, titled "Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead; The Risks of Privatizing Traffic Law Enforcement and How to Protect the Public." And a report released by the Justice Department suggests this trend may accelerate under the twin pressures of budget pressure and intense lobbying.

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The CUT Loopholes Act would put an end to the price and profit shifting that allows publicly traded companies to engage in pervasive tax avoidance.

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