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What do a Manhattan skyscraper secretly purchased by the Iranian government, a Louisiana Congressman hiding half a million dollars in bribes and a Russian crime boss stealing $150 million from investors all have in common? All were made possible by shell companies incorporated in the United States, according to a new report from Global Witness.
It explains that some states in the U.S. require less identification from people forming corporations than they require from those applying for a library card. We have long noted that one result is the use of anonymous corporations formed in the U.S. for tax evasion by Americans and by people from all over the world, which in turn makes it much more difficult to persuade other countries to cooperate with the U.S. in stamping out tax evasion.
On the bright side, there is a bill — with Democratic and Republican cosponsors in both the House and Senate — that would address this problem. The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act would require that each state finds out and records who is incorporating each company and make that information available for law enforcement purposes.
Arguably this information should be made public for all, but this bill would nonetheless vastly strengthen efforts to crack down on tax evasion, money laundering, terrorist financing and other crimes.