Is it Wrong to Hide from the IRS?

Aug. 10 -- The Federal Tax Code makes it possible for companies to avoid millions of dollars a year in taxes — simply by setting up a paper office in one of more than a dozen international tax havens like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

In the new post-Enron, post-Tyco world, recognition of how many companies had or were planning to use this loophole has stirred an angry debate, and a Congressional stampede to change the law.

"The overwhelming majority of the American people play by the rules every day, and they pay their taxes," Rep Jim Turner, D-Texas, said at a House of Representatives debate last month. "I cannot explain to those folks why in the world an American corporation can relocate in a tax haven overseas with just a post office box and a corporate certificate and avoid paying any taxes."

"If a Bermuda-bound company does not have to pay taxes on some of its income, of course it can underbid those who stay loyal to America," Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said at the same debate.

The debate was over Rep. Rosa DeLauro's, D-Conn., push to bar companies that reincorporated in tax havens outside the United States from doing business with the Department of Homeland Security.

"These companies have abandoned our country at a critical time in our history," DeLauro said. "They should not be rewarded with contracts from the very department charged with securing our security."

Running From a Stereotype

During the debate, Republican House Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, tried to head off Democrats with what has been the GOP's traditional argument.

"This issue has nothing to do with homeland security, Mr. Speaker," Armey said. "That is just one of the burdens of our current tax code."

When votes were first counted, DeLauro's motion had carried by 210 votes to 205. However, by the time Republicans finished switching their votes for the final record, the tally had grown to 318 for and just 110 against. Days later, the Senate passed a similar motion to ban off-shore tax-avoiders from contracts with the Defense Department.