Bill Targeting Offshore Tax Evasion Is Introduced in Congress

[SpartanDem]

Source: WSJ

WASHINGTON -- Democrats in Congress introduced legislation aimed at squeezing more information from foreign banks and U.S. citizens with overseas accounts, as part of an effort to combat offshore tax evasion.

The bill from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) includes some of President Obama's proposals to fight offshore-tax cheating. If implemented, the measure could raise $8.5 billion for the U.S. government over 10 years, according to a summary of the bill.

Customers of foreign banks would be hit with a 30% withholding tax on income from U.S. assets, unless the bank were to agree to disclose the identities of its U.S. customers and report on annual balance and account activity of those customers to the Internal Revenue Service.

"This bill offers foreign banks a simple choice -- if you wish to access our capital markets, you have to report on U.S. account holders," Mr. Rangel said Tuesday.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125665647056710555.html

[karynnj]

1. President Obama's comment yesterday on it - thanking Baucus, Rangel, Kerry and Neal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[spartan61]

2. This is something that should have happened a long time ago.

Will Joe Lieberman and the rest of the GOP vote against this too???

[earthboundmisfit]

3. What our country has lost to these cheats could fund healthcare for all

for more than a little while, I'd bet...

[flyarm]

4. can they start with UBS please???? pretty please???????

you know the corp that only had to turn over 250 names out of 52,000 tax cheats!!

[Greyskye]

5. About time.

K&R