"Tax Shell Game,

US LOSES UP TO $100 BILLION A YEAR TO OFFSHORE TAX HAVENS

"This is the day when we're all working hard, rushing to the post office, filing our returns, and then to hear about these large multi-billion dollar corporations who have used gimmicks to avoid paying their fair share -- it's something that should end this year," says John Krieger, a staff attorney with U.S. PIRG.

State-By-State Breakdown Of The Cost To Taxpayers

A Senate report estimated in 2008 that the United States loses up to $100 billion a year in tax revenue to offshore tax havens (PDF). In a report released Wednesday, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group offers a state-by-state breakdown of the cost to taxpayers of tax revenue lost to "shell companies and sham headquarters" in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.
The practice soaks dutiful taxpayers in every state for hundreds of millions of dollars, according to U.S. PIRG. The citizens of New York and Texas shoulder over $8 billion a year, and the good people of California are on the hook for an extra $11 billion.
Click here for U.S. PIRG's table with the state-by-state breakdown of the burden shifted to taxpayers.
U.S. PIRG came up with the state numbers by dividing the $100 billion figure by the percentage of total federal revenue contributed by each state. The nonprofit released its report on tax day to drive home a message: