Tax Dodging By Corporations And The Wealthy Cost Each Taxpayer $1,026 In 2012

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/04/04/1822581/tax-dodging-by-corporations-and-the-wealthy-cost-each-taxpayer-1026-in-2012/

By Travis Waldron posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Apr 4, 2013

America’s largest corporations have stashed nearly $1.5 trillion in offshore tax havens like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Ireland — countries where they do little business but claim massive profits due to low tax rates. As a result, corporate tax rates fell to a 40-year low in 2011 even as profits rose to a 60-year high.

Tax avoidance from corporations and wealthy individuals has a cost for individual taxpayers and small businesses, according to a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. According to U.S. PIRG, tax dodging cost individual taxpayers $1,026 and each small business $3,067 in 2012.

Those costs don’t necessarily come from higher taxes; instead, they often come in the form of higher budget deficits or, as they are now, from substantial cuts to public programs and services that benefit middle- and low-income families.

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