Caterpillar, an Illinois-based corporation, is accused by one of its own employees of using offshore subsidies in Switzerland and Bermuda to avoid about $2 billion in U.S. taxes from 2000 to 2009. They perpetrated the fraud simply by ascribing at least $5.6 billion in profits from an Illinois warehouse to a Geneva warehouse instead. Caterpillar has paid $36.8 billion in federal taxes from 2000 to 2009-a rate of 30%.
Daniel J. Schlicksup, the whistle-blower, was a Caterpillar executive and also filed a request for job protection through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act according to court records. This law makes any retaliation against employees who inform the government of illegal activity. Schlicksup has recently been transferred in what he considers a demotion related to his whistle-blowing. Schlicksup and another employee tried to convince Caterpillar executives that their Swiss tax plan might be illegal under U.S. law.
Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan denies any misconduct in tax law and claims Schlicksup's transfer was not a demotion. Dugan did not comment on any specific allegations.
Caterpillar has been one of many multinational corporations heavily lobbying Congress to end all taxes on profits earned abroad. In addition the lobbyist group, Win America Campaign, is advocating a one-time tax break to reduce federal income tax to 5.25%.The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a report claiming that this kind of tax break is unlikely to create jobs or increase investment in the U.S. and referred back to the lack of results from a similar tax break in 2004.
According to an article on the tax fraud by Peter S. Green on Bloomberg.com, Caterpillar earns 68% of their revenue offshore. The corporate tax rate in Switzerland is 10% and also offers exemptions as the U.S. tax law does. According to Schlicksup's lawsuit, the only purpose behind the Swiss unit was to avoid U.S. taxes and had no other business purpose at all. Apparently, the spare parts inventory was maintained in the U.S. and were just routed through the Swiss unit.
According to Schlicksup, originally a global tax manager at the company, Caterpillar is also guilty of "shareholder fraud" by overstating income. After being transferred, according to Schlicksup, he was asked to sign an agreement in 2008 that would restore his wages but require him to stop making claims of any "unlawful, unethical or improper conduct" according to an exhibit in the lawsuit.
This week, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., advanced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act which asks U.S. corporations to pay taxes on operations that are managed within the U.S. borders despite the location of incorporation. As in the Caterpillar example, many other corporations also choose to be incorporated in places like the Caymans to take advantage of these offshore tax havens in what many consider to be abuse of American tax law. Levin has examined "tax avoidance schemes" for 10 years and says that offshore tax havens cost the U.S. Treasury $100 billion in lost revenue every year.
Information from this article from:
Bloomberg.com, Peter S. Green "Caterpillar Accused of Demoting Executive Discovering $2 Billion Tax Dodge", July 8, 2011.
busienssweek.com, "Caterpillar manager accuses company of 'tax dodge', July 8, 2011
abcnews.go.com, Susanna Kim, "Sen. Levin Says Tackling Tax Haven Abuse is One Way to Reduce Deficit", July 14, 2011
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