Censored 2010: Bailed-Out Banks and America's Wealthiest Cheat IRS Out of Billions

1. Eighty-three of the top publicly held US companies have operations in tax havens like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the Virgin Islands.

2. Swiss banking giant UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) has enabled wealthy Americans to use tax schemes – some of which are illegal – to cheat the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) out of over $20 billion in recent years.

3. For corporations, the process of geographic tax avoidance is fairly simple. A US corporation will sell at reduced rates, even at a loss to their own offshore subsidiaries, and then resell products at higher prices, paying little or no taxes in the foreign country.

4. On February 19, 2009, UBS for the first time agreed to release to the US Department of Justice an as yet undetermined number of the names of bank account holders.

5. Anywhere from just 250 to 19,000 of US taxpayers with Swiss bank accounts face the prospect of IRS examination of their bank
documents with an eye to prosecution an/or civil litigation of the account holders.

6. There is a lot of money escaping taxation through entirely legal means through the provisions in the US tax code, and there is an accurate accounting of the revenues that are lost.



Lexis Nexis search results:
The topic of bailed-out banks is mildly censored. The public is starting to learn about It through news sources, and the wealthy are trying to hide it from the US. In an article I found, one of the biggest banks, the Union Bank of Switzerland is helping to keep the IRS from receiving taxes from large companies, however in a settlement they will be handing over the names of accounts of "certain United States clients." of course this is just a start and nothing can really be done to prevent US companies from getting away with tax fraud.
The US is trying their best now to fight the war on tax fraud by these big companies accepting bail-outs and hiding it in offshore banks.

Further Research:
What is interesting is that this same thing is happening right here in America before our own eyes. For instance, online gambling. Even though it is illegal here in the US, millions still get away with it and both the company (usually offshore) and the players don't pay any taxes at all.

Midterm Reflection

1. After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Please be specific.

Since the beginning of this class I have learned just how expansive media is, and how it affects us. There are so many mediums that it has become almost overwhelming trying to to pay attention to one at a time. I have realized all the different types of media around me and how each affects me in a different way, like how Twitter and TV are two completely different entities, but you can find the same kind of information from each.

2. What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a 1. A critical reader; 2. a writer, and 3. a critical thinker in this class so far?

1. I need to spend extra time in order to fully learn and understand the messages the texts are trying to reveal.
2. I am able to to explain my own personal ideals of media and the world around me.
3. I try and look past the initial message to find a deeper one hiding beneath it.

3. What's one thing YOU would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

I would probably have been more involved with online media (i.e. Twitter) and learned just how valuable they are as tools.

4. What's one thing you would like ME to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?

Maybe a little less blog posts of readings or class work. they are helpful for remember what you were talking about, but can be a bit overwhelming to keep track of.

5. Please comment on the usefulness of the course blog, your personal blog, our films, and our books as learning tools.

I think they are all great ways to communicate exactly what we are learning in class, and allow us to go back and remember everything we have learned so we can go back and reflect on it.