Levin urges laws to close tax loopholes

(Detroit News): As taxpayers around the country scramble to file their income tax returns by Monday, Sen. Carl Levin pushed again for closing corporate tax loopholes and urged his fellow Capitol Hill lawmakers to take a tougher stance on US. intervention in offshore tax havens. For most Americans, paying taxes is a painful but "patriotic duty to a country we love," Levin said. But those who want to cheat "know where to hide their money." Levin was speaking at a breakfast briefing in the nation’s capital on tax havens. Also at the breakfast, British author Nicholas Shaxson was introducing his new book on international tax policy and corporate tax cheating, titled "Treasure Islands."

As chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Levin has spent the past decade directing the committee’s staff to investigate how corporations and individuals in the United States have used a system of loopholes to avoid paying taxes to the tune of $100 billion in lost revenue annually.

In the afterglow of Congress’ government shutdown showdown last week, Levin noted if that $100 billion in lost revenue was recaptured by the Internal Revenue Service, "last week’s debate could’ve been far different."

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