Byron Dorgan: “Today is April 14 and tomorrow is April 15. That means tomorrow there will be a good many Americans who will finish…”

“Today is April 14 and tomorrow is April 15. That means tomorrow there will be a good many Americans who will finish their tax return preparation, go to the post office and drop it in the mailbox in order to get an April 15 date stamped on it to comply with the tax laws in this country. It is never a pleasant thing, and I know most people grit their teeth and wring their hands about the responsibility of having to file income tax returns. But most Americans do that because they know that we have needs and obligations in this country to pay for a defense establishment, to pay for roads, to pay for schools--to pay for the cost of civilization, in effect. However, not everybody pays their fair share of U.S. income taxes, not everybody pays their way. Today, I am releasing a United States General Accounting Office report that was done at my request. This GAO report, which I hope Members of the House and Senate will read, has some rather startling conclusions in it. The GAO report says that 67 percent of the foreign controlled corporations doing business in the United States--67 percent--pay no U.S. income taxes at all. Zero in Federal income taxes.”