The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing for August 1, 2006, entitled Offshore Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools & Offshore Secrecy. The Subcommittee has held a number of hearings addressing the issue of tax havens and offshore abuses which are undermining the integrity of the federal tax system, diverting tens of billions of dollars each year from the U.S. Treasury, and undermining U.S. law enforcement. Hearings held in 2001 examined the historic and ongoing lack of cooperation by some offshore tax havens with international tax enforcement efforts and their resistance to divulging information needed to detect, stop and prosecute U.S. tax evasion. A hearing held in December 2002 and Report issued in January 2003 provided an in-depth examination of an abusive tax shelter used by Enron. Two days of hearings in November 2003, and a bipartisan report issued in 2005, provide an inside look at how some respected accounting firms, banks, investment advisors, and lawyers have become engines pushing the design, sale, and implementation of abusive tax shelters to corporations and individuals across the country. The Subcommittee’s upcoming August 1st hearings will present case histories on the use of offshore trusts and corporations to circumvent U.S. tax, securities and anti-money laundering laws. Witnesses for the upcoming hearing will be securities firms, banks, law firms, U.S. taxpayers, a trust protector, and tax and securities experts.

Panel 2

REUVEN S. AVI-YONAH [View PDF] , Irwin I. Cohen Professor of Law , University of Michigan School of Law , Ann Arbor, Michigan

GARY M. BROWN [View PDF] , Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz , Nashville, Tennessee

Panel 3

HAIM SABAN [View PDF] , Saban Capital Group, Inc. , Los Angeles, California

ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON IV , New York, New York

MICHAEL C. FRENCH [View PDF] , Former Wyly Trust Protector , Dallas, Texas

Panel 4

LOUIS J. SCHAUFELE III , Securities Broker , Dallas, Texas

JEFFREY GREENSTEIN , Chief Executive Officer , Quellos Group, LLC , Seattle, Washington

MICHAEL CONN [View PDF] , Private Bank Northwest Region President , Bank of America , San Francisco, California

GEORGE T. WENDLER [View PDF] , Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer , HSBC Bank USA , Marlboro, New Jersey

Panel 5

MICHAEL G. CHATZKY , Chatzky & Associates , San Diego, California

LEWIS R. STEINBERG , Former Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP , New York, New York

JOHN P. BARRIE , Bryan Cave LLP , Washington, D.C.

CHARLES W. BLAU [View PDF] , Meadows, Owens, Collier, Reed, Cousins & Blau , Dallas, Texas