Good article (which has potential to challenge the basic assumptions of Homelander tax and compliance industry + @elisejosanbean) @TAPInternation: 1. explains the "Criminalization Of American #Emigrants 2. Explains that #expats are not really criminals https://t.co/dnAfl0Cv6a pic.twitter.com/WWBi748Or4

— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) August 2, 2020

The above tweet references an article published on June 29, 2020 in Tax Notes. In the article Laura Snyder describes many of the injustices inflicted on those who have the courage to leave the United States. The included list of injustices is well known. In addition the article includes a discussion of Professor Elise Bean’s claim that somehow offshore tax evasion is (or was) costing the United States 100 billion dollars annually. Ms. Snyder analyzes and ultimately explains the dubious validity of that claim. (That dubious claim did NOT stop Professor Bean from repeating the same malarky at the April 2017 Meadows hearing into FATCA.)

Ms. Snyder’s article includes:

Bean was a principal contributor to a congressional report that wrote up the results of these investigations. The report began with this statement:

Each year, the United States loses an estimated $100 billion in tax revenues due
to offshore tax abuses.26

This statement was supported by one footnote. Bean later described this footnote as “citing a variety of academic and other sources to ensure the $100 billion estimate stood up to scrutiny.” Indeed, Bean understood the importance of this figure as she stated that it “clearly resonated with reporters, policymakers, and the public, all of whom were trying to understand and quantify the harm connected with offshore tax abuse. The frequency with
which the $100 billion figure was cited in the following years taught me the importance and the power of using a simple, bottom-line numerical estimate to elevate an issue.”27
In fact, scrutiny of this footnote reveals that the sources it cites give wildly different estimates
of manifestly different things. To begin, of the 10 sources cited, only four offer any estimate of lost
tax revenue. Of those, two offer estimates for the amount lost as a result of multinational companies engaging in fraudulent transfer pricing and shifting of intangible property,28 which is an issue that is entirely unrelated to individuals hiding money in offshore bank accounts. Of the two that address individuals hiding money in offshore bank accounts, one estimates this amount to be $255 billion — but this estimate relates to all countries worldwide, not specifically to the United States. Nothing in that source specially addresses the United States or
contains any statistic specific to the United States.

It does contain a breakdown by region, which indicates that just 17 percent of offshore assets are held by persons living in North America. The remaining 83 percent of offshore assets are held by persons living in the Middle East and Asia, Europe, and Latin America (17 percent of $255
billion is $43.3 billion).29

This leaves just one single source. That source estimates the tax revenue lost by the United States
as a result of U.S. residents hiding money in offshore bank accounts to be $40 to $70 billion
annually30 — nowhere near the congressional report’s claim of $100 billion …

An earlier Brock post explains with Professor Bean’s claim cannot possibly be correct.

As we approach March 18, 2020, the 10th Anniversary of #FATCA approaches: Professor @WilliamByrnes explains why th… https://t.co/p8MEsNUoN9

— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) August 2, 2020