Three US senators have targeted the $100 billion in revenues they claim is drained from the US Treasury every year by offshore tax haven and tax shelter abuses with a "Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act". Two of the three have led a Congressional investigation into offshore tax havens, abusive tax shelters and the professionals who design, market, and implement them, estimating that up to $70 billion in tax revenues is lost every year through individual offshore tax avoidance, plus an additional $30 billion from corporate offshore tax planning initiatives, with abusive tax shelters add tens of billions of dollars more. The third is presidential candidate Barack Obama, who said: “This is a basic issue of fairness and integrity. We need to crack down on individuals and businesses that abuse our tax laws so that those who work hard and play by the rules aren’t disadvantaged.” Among other measures, the 68-page bill would: • Establish presumptions to combat offshore secrecy by allowing US tax and securities law enforcement to presume that non-publicly traded, offshore corporations and trusts are controlled by the US taxpayers who formed them or sent them assets, unless the taxpayer proves otherwise; • Impose tougher requirements on US taxpayers using offshore jurisdictions by listing 34 jurisdictions which have already been named in IRS court filings as probable locations for US tax evasion; • Give the US Treasury authority to take special measures against foreign jurisdictions and financial institutions that impede US tax enforcement; • Strengthen detection of offshore activities by requiring US financial institutions to report certain actions to the IRS; • Tax offshore trust income used to buy real estate, artwork and jewelry for US persons; • Strengthen penalties on tax shelter promoters and corporate insiders who hide offshore stock holdings; • Stop tax shelter “patents”; • Require hedge funds and company formation agents to establish anti-money laundering programmes.