After 32 years of IRS work — and more than $100 million in resolved tax debt — I've seen just about every version of the problem you're dealing with. I'm Darrin Mish, a tax attorney in Tampa. Here's what you should know.
There is a cost of evading taxes, and if there is a cost, someone has to eventually pay it. As it stands, evading taxes has spawned a global industry. Eight dollars of every hundred are stashed safely away in a tax haven somewhere in the world. Havens like Switzerland and Singapore contain untold billions.
Unfortunately, tax evasion is not a game that everyone can play—there are rules. The first rule is that you have to be wealthy. The costs are substantial, and deprive the US of billions of tax dollars each year.
Countries are working to curb tax evasion, but one can only imagine it’s virtually an impossible task. What’s in it for the tax havens? A lot! Tax havens gain enormous financial benefits.
When one loophole is closed, international regulations often plug the gap with new rules that favor continuation of the game. It’s an endless game that the rich keep winning.
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