On ‘Tax Day,’ Campaign to Pass Obama Budget Holds Grassroots Events in 24 States
Rebuild and Renew America Now!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jeremy Funk, 202-470-5878
DATE: April 15, 2009 Lauren Weiner, 202-470-5870
On ‘Tax Day,' Campaign to Pass Obama Budget Holds Grassroots Events in 24 States Outside Local Post Offices Urging Congress to Back Obama Plan to Close Outrageous Tax Loopholes for Corporate America and Make Transformational Investments in Healthcare, Education and Clean Energy That Will Grow the Economy for the Rest of America
New Report Released from US PIRG Showing Offshore Tax Havens for Corporate America are Costing American Taxpayers $100 Billion a Year
Americans United for Change on So-Called ‘Tea Parties' Protests Orchestrated by Corporate Front Groups and Attended by Dozens of Republican Members of Congress the Same Day: "The Corporate special interests and Congressional Republicans behind the curtain are desperate to keep their tax havens, handouts for the big oil and insurance companies, and tax breaks for multi-millionaires"
Washington D.C. -- The campaign to Rebuild and Renew America Now!, a coalition of 114 national and 589 state and local progressive, labor and advocacy organizations working together to pass President Obama's budget blueprint for long-term economic growth, today announced details of grassroots activity taking place across the country on ‘Tax Day' urging Congress to pass the President's budget plan to close offshore tax havens for Corporate America and make transformational investments in health care, education and clean energy that will grow the economy for the rest of America. Click here to download audio from today's press conference call: http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/TaxDayPressCall
Local organizers are holding 35 events mostly outside post offices in 24 states releasing a new report from US Public Interest Research Group that highlights that more than 80 percent of the largest corporations in America - corporations like AIG, CitiGroup, and Morgan Stanley - hide their profits in off-shore locations like the Cayman Islands to avoid paying taxes contributing to a loss of revenue that is estimated at $100 billion- a tax burden that is shifted to the American people. In fact, one building in the Cayman Islands houses more than 18 thousand corporations who are avoiding their taxes. CLICK HERE to download the new report "Tax Shell Game" Organizers are also distributing this flyer urging Congress to pass the Obama budget plan which calls for putting an end to these outrageous Corporate tax loopholes:
Nicole Tichon, U.S. PIRG: "Tax Day is a day Americans look forward to as much as a visit to the dentist. The day when millions of hard-working people head to Post Offices to file their tax returns. There are some, though, that have gone to extreme lengths to avoid paying their fair share. Eighty percent of the largest corporations in our country hide profits made here in the United States using accounts in tax haven countries, offshore shell companies and sham headquarters in order to avoid paying billions in federal taxes. It has been estimated that the use of offshore tax havens results massive loss in tax revenue - $100 billion a year -- which ultimately must be made up by the rest of us. The debt of a few is transferred to many - and to future generations. That is why Congress must pass President Obama's budget proposal that not only prioritizes fairness and accountability in the tax code by ending these Corporate tax loopholes, it also represents a clear road-map for long-term economic prosperity. Without fixing our broken health care system, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and investing in tomorrow's educated workforce - America's struggling middle-class families and small businesses will always shoulder burdens that make it extremely difficult to get ahead. And that's what the President's budget is all about."
Heather Booth, campaign manager, Rebuild and Renew America Now!: "Since we announced this campaign effort a little more than a month ago, our members have logged over 75,000 calls into the offices of members of congress; aired hundreds of thousands dollars worth of paid radio and TV ads; and we have held or are planning 326 grassroots events in 46 states in support of the President's budget. And today at post offices across the nation, activists will be distributing flyers to last minute tax filers, urging them to call their Representatives in Congress and tell them to support the President's plan to shut down these outrageous tax loopholes for Corporate America and invest in priorities that will grow the economy for the rest of America, including healthcare, education, and clean energy. American families don't get a Tax Haven -- why does AIG?"
Tom McMahon, Acting Executive Director, Americans United for Change addressed the so-called "Tax Day Tea Party" protests also taking place today.
"As with most things - you need to consider the source," said McMahon. "There are news reports out today reporting that these so-called tea parties are receiving backing from Corporate front groups like former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey's Freedom Works and that 38 Republican members of Congress have lined up to participate. We'd like to know what Republicans like Newt Gingrich and Senator DeMint are protesting exactly. If they're protesting the current tax code - it's the tax code that was set by President Bush and a Republican controlled Congress. The real agenda here is that Republicans in congress want to see President Obama fail in his efforts to turn the page on the failed policies of the past. Why? Because the Corporate special interests that contribute to their campaigns desperately want to keep their tax havens in the Cayman Islands so they can continue to avoid paying their fair share. They desperately want to keep their tax breaks for multimillionaires. They desperately want to keep their hugely wasteful subsidies for big oil, insurance and drug companies. That's what this is all about. And to maintain the status quo, they will say or do whatever it takes - including exploiting the natural anger associated with Tax Day to sell the American people a bill of goods about the President's priorities."
"It's no surprise that dozens of Republican Members are participating in these Paris Hilton tea parties today as the only "alternatives" they seem to be able to muster up is more of these same exact failed Bush economic policies that got us into this mess: more tax breaks for big oil, Paris Hilton and AIG that never manage to ‘trickle-down' to anyone else; more woefully shortchanged investments in things that will actually grow the economy, like healthcare, education and clean energy. If these Republican members of Congress are truly concerned about paying higher taxes, do they agree with us that it is outrageous that American taxpayers are paying $100 billion more in taxes thanks to these offshore tax havens for Corporate America? If so, will they join with us today in calling on Congress to pass President Obama's plan to shut down these Corporate tax havens once and for all?"
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