U.S. Tax Shelter Industry: The Role of Accountants, Lawyers, and Financial Professionals - Four KPMG Case Studies: FLIP, OPIS, BLIPS, and SC2

Publication

U.S. Tax Shelter Industry: The Role of Accountants, Lawyers, and Financial Professionals - Four KPMG Case Studies: FLIP, OPIS, BLIPS, and SC2

Abstract

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Minority Staff conducted an investigation into the use of "tax shelters" - or a tool for decreasing tax liability - by financial institutions and accounting and law firms. The Subcommittee reviewed thousands of documents containing relevant tax information and conducted interviews with representatives of firms and financial institutions. The Subcommittee found tax shelters were a prevalent issue in the financial industry, with many financial institutions and accounting and law firms being complicit in using tax shelters to decrease their tax liability.