Obama Takes Aim at Offshore Tax Havens.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama vowed to "detect and pursue" American tax evaders Monday as he announced a plan to close tax loopholes and clamp down on overseas shelters.

The president said he wants to prevent U.S. companies from deferring tax payments by keeping profits in foreign countries rather than recording them at home. He also called for more transparency in bank accounts held by Americans in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands.

"If financial institutions won't cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens and act accordingly," Obama said.

TPJ: It's about time that a president has the courage and will to take on the big moneyed interests who are robbing Americans of billions of tax revenue that could be used to reinvest in America. I have often talked about "Economic Patriotism" before on this blog, which is paying your fair share in taxes to keep America going. It is the sacrifice paid by those who have gotten rich off of America's unique opportunities and great workers to maintain the strength of the union.

No one doubts that Patriotism when it comes to national security is vital to rallying Americans together to defeat a common enemy that threatens our security. Well, America's infrastructure is dangerously aging, our health care system is a joke and threatens the productivity of the American worker. We desperately need a new energy grid to move forward into the new green economy, which promises to bring us not just new jobs but an entire new industry. It also enables security at home as our soldiers will be less likely to be involved in politics of countries who hold us hostige with their oil reserves.

However, like all important investments this requires money--and we are losing billions of dollars in revenue that isn't there to spend on this investments in the longterm viability of America. See, I believe that America is at an economic and technological cross-roads not unlike that, which faced us before the modern production line was implimented, which employed millions and laid the foundation for the middle-class. This tax revenue would partly go toward boosting the research and development of American companies here at home and not abroad. It is a great step forward toward establishing more fairness and balance back to our tax code.

We are rapidly losing our manufacturing base and a country that doesn't make things is a country too leveredged toward one or two industries such as service and information, which is basically what we have now. We need to make things again like wind turbines, solar panels, parts for wind turbines from suppliers, energy technitions to hook everything up. As well as light-rail, high-speed railway workers. Again, this all takes investment, which requires money and right now many major corporations are making money hand over fist without investing much back in America in the form of taxes.

The president, who hammered on this issue during his long campaign for the White House, said at a White House event that his plan would generate $210 billion in new taxes over 10 years and "make it easier" for companies to create jobs at home. Under the plan, companies would not be able to write off domestic expenses for generating profits abroad. The goal is to reduce the incentive for U.S. companies to base all or part of their operations in other countries.

The current law, Obama said, "says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York. " TPJ: However, as usual many (not all) greedy, economic traitor Republicans are selfishly whining:

Before the announcement, a Republican leadership staffer circulated an email citing a Bloomberg report saying the proposal "would be the biggest tax increase on U.S. corporations since 1986."

TPJ: Oh quit twisting it around and trying to manipulate it to plea to less savvy Americans that you are being kept down by the government. It's not a tax raise--it's restoring fairness to the tax code so that those who can afford to pay more--do. Instead of the average tax payer having to make up the difference. You'd think that Republicans who are always claiming that the tax system is unfairly burdening average Americans would be for closing these loopholes because it means they would get more for their tax dollar and save some too.

The retort to all of this is that companies need those tax havens because of our corporate taxes are "too high" according to some, like Erin Burnett from CNBC:

BURNETT: Everyone likes to say American companies tax dodge, and no doubt they do, and the tax system could use massive reform, I don't think anyone would debate that, but the average tax rate paid by American companies...as of last year, it was right up around 30-plus percent. They are supposed to pay 35%. The average in other countries is significantly lower. So that is something to think about when people talk about tax avoidance by major U.S. companies.

TPJ: However, consider this:

Is that something to think about? See, I would think about the fact that if you can expect corporations to avail themselves of tax havens when the rate is 30-plus-percent, there's no reason to believe they'll stop doing that if their rates get cut.

TPJ: Burnett undoubtedly would agree as with many greedy corporate types as it would enable them to engorge themselves on even more money that the rest of us are helping create but increasingly losing benefits from. Just listen to Burnett practically making greed and selfishness a patriotic duty, "Isn't it your obligation in this country - there is a tax code for a reason, to take advantage of every bit of it you can and pay as little as you can."

TPJ: Oh, really? And here I thought we had a tax code to ensure the most fairness and balance as possible. I'm not going to apologize--I won't shed a tear if these mega-multinational corporations have to pay more in taxes. They make a lot of their money on the backs of under-paid, over-worked American workers and off the Neo-slavery of the easily exploitable gobalized marketplace work force.

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