Wyden seeks IRS info on firms linked to Panama Papers
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is asking the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for information about filings from business entities linked to the Panama Papers.
“With information on thousands of shell companies from the Panama Papers out in public view, lawmakers and agencies here in the U.S. ought to put our disclosure tools to the test,” Wyden the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a news release.
“This leak demonstrated just how easy it is to abuse shell companies, so I believe it is essential to determine whether the laws on the books do enough to fight that abuse.”
The Panama Papers are documents from Mossack Fonesca, a Panama-based law firm that set up shell companies for clients, that were leaked to journalists.
Wyden is interested in information filed to Treasury and the IRS by firms connected to the papers in order to measure the effectiveness of disclosure requirements aimed at stopping shell companies from being misused.
“It is critical to determine whether our government has the right tools to discern legitimate businesses from criminal enterprises, and to identify what additional measures might be needed to fight financial crime,” Wyden wrote.
Wyden previously asked officials in Nevada and Wyoming for information about anonymous shell companies in their states with ties to Mossack Fonesca.
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