[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2246-S2247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Franken):
  S. 2253. A bill to require individuals who file under the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978 to disclose any financial accounts that are or 
have been deposited in a country that is a tax haven; to the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the old adage that sunlight is the best 
disinfectant is an old adage for one main reason: It is true.
  That is why I am introducing the Financial Disclosure to Reduce Tax 
Haven Abuse Act of 2012, to require candidates for Federal office and 
certain Federal employees to disclose any financial interest they or 
their spouse hold that is held in an offshore tax haven.
  It might seem ridiculous that we don't already know whether 
candidates and Members of Congress are using offshore tax havens. 
However, under current law, those individuals are not required to 
account for where their financial interests are held.
  A January 26, 2012, article in the Los Angeles Times reported that 
Mitt Romney--a candidate for the Republican nomination for President--
failed to disclose a number of accounts in countries with very low tax 
burdens.
  Specifically, according to a review of the candidate's tax returns 
and financial disclosure statements:

       At least 23 funds and partnerships listed in the couple's 
     2010 tax returns did not show up or were not listed in the 
     same fashion on Romney's most recent financial disclosure, 
     including 11 based in low-tax foreign countries such as 
     Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.

  The Romney campaign called the discrepancies ``trivial.''
  But this information is not trivial to the American people's trust in 
government, and the use of offshore tax havens is not trivial to our 
economy.
  Studies have found that tax offshore tax havens, and other similar 
loopholes, cost taxpayers $100 billion per year.
  I want to commend Senators Levin and Conrad for the work they have 
done to shine a light on these nefarious practices.
  Those two Senators successfully included a provision in the Senate 
Transportation bill that will give the Treasury Department greater 
tools to crack down on offshore tax haven abuse. It is an important 
step forward, but more must be done.
  The American people are rightly concerned that the wealthy and well-
connected are skirting our laws to avoid taxation, and they deserve to 
know that the people who hope to represent them in Washington--and 
those who are trying to attain those positions--aren't cheating the 
system.
  Nothing in this bill impinges on an individual's right to hold 
financial interests within the global economy. If there is a legitimate 
reason for a candidate or a Member of Congress or any other individual 
who files a financial disclosure to hold their money in an account on 
the Cayman Islands, they should have no problem explaining it to 
voters. But any individual who has or wants to have the public's trust 
should be honest about practices they have engaged in that cost the 
taxpayers they wish to represent billions of dollars every year. This 
is an important step that we must take to restore the public trust.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.

[[Page S2247]]

  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record as follows:

                                S. 2253

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Financial Disclosure to 
     Reduce Tax Haven Abuse Act of 2012''.

     SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF ACCOUNTS HELD IN TAX HAVENS.

       Section 102(b)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 
     (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, with a specific 
     accounting of any financial interest held by the covered 
     individual or their spouse in a country that is considered as 
     a tax haven as listed by the Secretary of the Treasury and 
     made available to the filer'' after ``calendar year''; and
       (2) inserting at the end the following:
     ``In compiling the list of tax havens under subparagraph (A), 
     the Secretary of the Treasury should consider for inclusion 
     those jurisdictions which have been previously and publicly 
     identified by the Internal Revenue Service as secrecy 
     jurisdictions in Federal court proceedings.''.
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