New U.S. Tax Legislation Targets Offshore Jurisdictions

Three new pieces of U.S. legislation target transactions involving "tax haven" or "offshore secrecy" jurisdictions as part of efforts to close the growing U.S. tax gap. The bills – S. 396, which has been incorporated in S. 554, the budget resolution, and S. 681, the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act – target "offshore secrecy jurisdictions" and include lists of specifically named countries. As Congress searches for revenue to fund international and domestic projects in a pay-as-you-go budget environment, legislators are increasingly working to limit the ability of U.S. citizens and companies to obtain tax benefits from doing business abroad … [more]