Associating offshore tax shelters with the wealthy is a thing of the past, as technology and affordability are allowing more middle-income Americans to access this option.
But it’s a costly burden on taxpayers, Senator Carl Levin was quoted saying in USA Today.
“This growing access to people who are willing to pay a $3,000 fee… to someone to help hide their assets offshore is getting to be a huge problem,” he said.
“Honest taxpayers get socked with the bill,” he added.
It is estimated that Americans invest up to $1.6 trillion in offshore accounts, according to anti-tax group Tax Justice Network. Subsequently, some Americans duck out on up to $50 billion in taxes annually, USA Today reported Reuven Avi-Yonah, a tax expert at the University of Michigan Law School, as saying.
Average American citizens interested in placing their golden eggs in offshore nests are receiving the help of a number of agents including brokers, accountants, attorneys and other providers in the business of promoting offshore accounts as a way to dodge a number of authorities and agencies.
Kevin McCoy of USA Today reported that offshore ac-counts are marketed as a way to avoid lawsuits, creditors and even evade paying federal and local taxes.
And for the right price, more and more middle-income American citizens are willing to invest offshore.
By: BARRY WILLIAMS, The Nassau Guardian
