Tax evasion protest in the Cayman Islands

This has just appeared in our email inbox, via Nicole Tichon, TJN-USA

"In the first protest against Cayman Island tax shelters the island has seen, on Thursday, December 13, over 100 Americans marched to the Ugland House, the location where some 18,000 corporations hide their tax dollars, to demand that corporations pay their fair share of taxes.  They held signs saying “Bring our tax dollars home” and “We want our money back” and sang a parody song to Harry Belafonte's "Day-O" with the refrain "Tax evaders time to bring the money home."  Four of them were dressed as billionaires, waving their money in the air in a theatrical show of corporate greed."

That is a remarkable and very welcome development. It is not a hospitable environment for such protests. More photos here.

The protesters are traveling with the weekly magazine The Nation, and the protest was organized by the activist group CODEPINK. This focus on tax shelters takes place at a time when US officials are engulfed in a tug-of-war over what budget cuts to make to avoid what they are calling the “fiscal cliff.” “The US deficit could be solved with the $150 billion a year that could be recovered from these offshore tax shelters,” says CODEPINK cofounder Jodie Evans. 

“The American people, exposed to the issue of tax cheaters during Romney’s presidential bid, believe that corporations should pay their fair share,” said CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin. “That’s why we are here, in the Cayman Islands, to demand that corporations such as Exxon, McDonalds, and KBR bring the tax dollars home."

Contact: Medea Benjamin, medea @ codepink.org Jodie Evans, 310-913-1431, Jodie @ codepink.org

For other protests in tax havens, see this, for example.