Report: Virginians lose money due to offshore tax havens

As the May 1 Virginia state tax filing deadline approaches, the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) released the 2014 “Picking up the Tab” report that shows the cost to individuals and small businesses for big corporations’ use of offshore tax havens.

Each individual tax filer in Virginia pays an additional $1,159 and every small business pays an additional $3,981 of federal and state tax dollars to ensure that big corporations continue to receive tax breaks through offshoring profits.

“This is outrageous,” said Virginia Organizing Board member and Danville Chapter leader Johnny Mayo. “To hear Congress tell it, the only way to fix our national debt and deficit is to cut funding to important budget items that help Virginia’s families like Social Security and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). That’s just not the case, which is made even more clear by this report.”

Virginia lost $800 million in state revenue and $500 million in corporate tax revenue last year to offshore tax havens.

“It really is an easy choice—let individuals and small businesses keep more of their tax dollars and end offshore tax loopholes for big corporations,” said Mayo. “Virginia Organizing calls on U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to stop this nonsense and make sure that these wealthy corporations are paying their fair share.”