Dennys: News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food: Lobbyists, IRS Square Off Over New Law to Catch Rich Tax Dodgers
From Denny: It's an election year and reeling in tax dodgers is a populist position. Americans are furious the wealthy and corporations don't pay taxes at all or very little, certainly not their fair share.
How much does the government lose to rich tax cheats?
Did you know the Treasury Department loses as much as $100 billion each year in owed taxes because of offshore accounts? Think how that would affect the bottom line to ease the budget deficit - instead of taking away school lunch programs for needy children.
New tax dodger law
The good news is there is a new law in town. It's called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Foreign financial institutions must report accounts held by American citizens to the U.S. government. The penalty if they fail to report? Not providing that information means those firms face a 30 percent withholding tax on their U.S. revenue. Ouch!
The bad news is that the law does not take effect until 2013 even though it was passed in March 2010. Worse, now enter the gang of lobbyists - yes, more than the usual 100 per lawmaker already leeching off the taxpayers in Washington - who are descending upon the capitol to reject or modify this law. Screaming for help are the foreign financiers and trade associations that have set their sights upon nasty K Street as their messiah.
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