Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had scheduled a hearing, "Dividend Tax Abuse: How Offshore Entities Dodge Taxes On U.S. Stock Dividends," on Thursday, September 11, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The Subcommittee examined how some financial institutions have designed, marketed, and implemented transactions to enable foreign taxpayers, including offshore hedge funds, to dodge millions of dollars of taxes on U.S. stock dividends. The hearing also examined whether current law relating to dividend taxation and withholding should be strengthened. The Subcommittee expects to issue a Subcommittee staff report in conjunction with the hearing summarizing its investigative findings and recommendations. Witnesses included representatives of U.S. financial institutions, offshore hedge funds, a tax expert, and the Internal Revenue Service.


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