Letter to your Congressman
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Dear Representative/Senator:
Perhaps you have heard about the latest trend in corporate tax
avoidance: corporate inversions. This is where U.S. owned corporations
that operate in the U.S. and benefit from U.S. public services decide
to reincorporate in an offshore tax haven to avoid paying millions of
dollars in taxes. All it takes for them is some complicated paperwork,
and presto, the rest of us working stiffs are left holding the tax
burden as our government goes into deficit and an expensive war on
terror mounts.
As a taxpayer, this upsets me deeply. It is simply unfair. Nobody likes
paying taxes, but most of us understand pretty well that taxes are the
price one pays for a civilized society. We pay taxes so that our
children can be educated, our laws can be enforced, our roads can be
maintained, our borders can be secured, and countless other services
that benefit everybody, including corporations, can be provided. How is
it fair, I ask you, for me to pay my taxes when large corporations are
absconding off to Bermuda so they don’t have to pay their share? Not to
mention that this is a disgustingly unpatriotic thing to do at a time
of war.
What I want to know is what you are doing to make the tax code fair to
me. I don’t have fancy corporate lawyers who can orchestrate a
razzle-dazzle of offshore magic that turns my tax return into a zero.
Nor would I want to. I recognize the importance of taxes, even if I
dislike paying them. We’re all in this together, rich and poor, big
corporations and small families, and we should all shoulder the
responsibility for funding our government. We are a nation founded on
the golden principles of equality and justice for all. Let’s live up to
those principles when it comes to paying taxes.
Sincerely,
Citizen X
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