HuffPO-
On Wall Street, there’s a benefit to developing into something big and complex.
America’s seven biggest banks now have more than 14,500 subsidiaries around the world, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (h/t Bloomberg). They have hatched more than 10,000 of these subsidiaries since 1991, largely in an aim to skirt regulations and taxes, according to the report.
By stashing assets in foreign subsidiaries, banks can avoid U.S. taxes since the assets are subject to taxes in the country in which they are held. In addition, if the subsidiaries are in tax havens, the companies can pay taxes at a super low rate or, in some cases, not at all.
The boost in foreign subsidiaries is part of a larger trend of wealthy people and corporations finding creative ways to avoid paying taxes. Thirty of America’s most profitable companies didn’t pay anything in income taxes from 2008 to 2010, according to a November report from the Citizens for Tax Justice. In addition, wealthy people and their families hold between $21 and $32 trillion, or between 30 and 46 percent of global GDP, in offshore tax havens, according to a new report by former McKinsey chief economist James Henry on behalf of the Tax Justice Network.
© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.
