Obama to crackdown on tax havens
Published:Monday | March 9, 2009 | 7:06 PM
The Barack Obama administration in the US signaled its intention to crackdown on lucrative tax havens, including some in the Caribbean.
US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner said the administration will launch what he described as an ambitious programme targeting companies that use offshore jurisdictions to avoid paying taxes.
A recently released Congressional report found that in 2007, 83 of the 100 largest publicly-traded US companies had units in low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions, like the Cayman Islands.
Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Carl Levin is hoping that legislation in the House of Representatives will stop banks from helping wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes.
The proposed legislation would close certain tax loopholes and give US regulators the authority to take special measures against foreign jurisdictions and financial institutions that impede US tax enforcement.