Byron Dorgan: “This represents a legal fiction, 12,748 corporations say that this is their home. No, it is not. This is a playhouse for…”

“This represents a legal fiction, 12,748 corporations say that this is their home. No, it is not. This is a playhouse for tax avoidance. That is what this is about. They get to run their income through here so they don't to have pay taxes to the U.S. Government. They want all the opportunities that come with being an American except the responsibility to pay taxes. Thousands of companies take up residence in tax haven countries for the purpose of avoiding taxes. Many other companies use entirely different, yet legal, tax avoidance schemes. One example is the sale of a German sewage system in Bochum, Germany, that nets Wachovia Bank $175 million in tax savings. I don't even understand how the transaction works. Does someone walk into an investment banking firm and say: Do you have a sewer section here, or do you have a sewer specialist I could talk to? Because I would like to avoid taxes by investing in a German sewer system. Maybe the receptionist says: We have a section over here in our investment banking firm that actually specializes in foreign sewers. Wachovia apparently found one. They saved $175 million. Does that mean they used the sewage system? No. Does it mean they actually have a need for it? Does it actually change hands? No, it is still underground in Germany. What it does is, it allows this company to avoid paying U.S. taxes.”