Tax cheating by super rich out of control

RAW STORY
Published: Monday July 31, 2006

According to an article to appear in Tuesday's New York Times, a new Senate report on high-level tax schemes will reveal that "so many super-rich Americans evade taxes using offshore accounts that law enforcement cannot control the growing misconduct," RAW STORY has learned.

The report estimates that tax cheating now costs the government as much as $70 billion a year, or 7 cents out of every dollar. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), whose staff ran the investigation, says, "The universe of offshore tax cheating has become so large that no one, not even the United States government, could go after all of it."

Among the six cases cited in the report are those of the billionaire owner of the New York Jets, Robert Wood Johnson IV, and the producer of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," Haim Saban, who are described as victims. They are both scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Permanent Investigations subcommittee and are expected to blame their tax advisers for assuring them that the deals they were engaged in were probably lawful.

The report also discusses prominent George W. Bush supporters Charles and Sam Wyly, who are characterized as active participants in tax schemes. The Wyly Brothers told the subcommittee they planned to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and have not been called to testify.

FULL TIMES ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK