CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A new report estimates nearly $200 billion a year in revenue is lost to offshore tax havens – enough to not only stop the automatic federal spending cuts threatened for March 1, but also cover all state and local firefighting budgets nationwide for 12 months.

Dan Smith wrote The Hidden Cost of Offshore Tax Havens for U.S. PIRG. He says the consumer advocacy group estimates the U.S. loses a $150 billion a year, and states lose another $40 billion – more than $100 million in West Virginia state taxes alone.

"It's not a victimless offense,” Smith says. “The winners are the big banks, pharmaceuticals and high tech companies. And the losers are small businesses and ordinary taxpayers."

Defenders say the havens help firms dodge a high corporate income tax rate. They say the companies might leave the country completely if the loopholes were closed.

Smith says the dirty secret is few companies pay the full corporate rate. And he says they're unlikely to leave, because the work is done here and the products are sold here.

He adds many corporate subsidiaries are little more than a complicated legal fiction. Products might be created and sold here, but the profits can magically bounce around the world before ending up in a Caribbean P.O. box.

"In the Cayman Islands there is actually a single building, five stories tall, that has nearly 19,000 corporate headquarters registered to it," Smith says.

According to Sean O'Leary, a policy analyst with the West Virginia Center On Budget and Policy, the state has closed one big loophole that had allowed companies to hide profits in other states. But he says it's hard to confirm how much the state loses to offshore tax havens, because companies don't even report the figures.

"If it's $10 million, if it's a $100 million, it's depriving the state of resources,” he says. “Could we be closing these loopholes to fix our budget problems, or should we be cutting things like higher education?"

O'Leary says the system gives the biggest companies an unfair advantage and Smith agrees.

"The small business owner doesn't have a thousand lawyers in its tax department,” Smith says. “That's how many General Electric has. And not surprisingly, that company over a three-year period paid nothing in federal income taxes."





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Pennsylvania's budget deadline is looming on Thursday. Gov. Tom Wolf is calling for a minimum-wage increase that would get the state to $15 an hour by 2028.

A new brief gives a profile of the workers who would benefit.

The analysis from Keystone Research Center found an estimated 1.46 million Pennsylvania workers would see higher wages through the increase.

Keystone Research Center Senior Research Analyst Claire Kovach said the workers who would most benefit are the ones who were deemed essential during the pandemic, such as those in health care, retail, social services and more.

She said the state minimum wage has been stagnant for far too long.

"One of the minimum wage jobs that I worked 12 years ago is still advertised at $7.25 per hour today," said Kovach. "So the minimum wage worker who stands where I stood a dozen years ago, they're getting paid a wage with around 25% less buying power than I was back then."

The increase to $15 by 2028 would amount to a $3,800 raise for the average-year round worker, Kovach said.

If passed, the gradual increase would start with a boost to $12 an hour in July. Opponents to a minimum wage increase are concerned about the costs to businesses.

The brief also finds that across the proposed minimum wage increase from July 2022 to July 2028, an estimated $30 billion would be put back into the state economy.

Kovach added that with inflation climbing and more Pennsylvanians experiencing financial insecurity, an increased minimum wage could be a lifeline for families.

"There's an interesting thing that happens when you give low-wage workers a raise," said Kovach. "They don't store this money in off-shore accounts. This money is spent directly back into the economy and actually generates more economic movement and more economic benefits for communities than some other economic stimulus items."

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage calculator shows that today, a single adult in Pennsylvania needs to earn nearly $17 per hour to support themselves - while a single adult with one child needs nearly $33 per hour to support their family.

There are fewer than five months to go until the November General Election, in which Pennsylvania voters will select a new governor and U.S. Senator.

A new poll commissioned by AARP Pennsylvania showed how residents over 50 are feeling about the candidates and the issues. In the 2018 midterm elections, Pennsylvanians age 50 years and older made up 61% of all voters in the state.

The AARP poll includes views about this year's political races, including the contest for governor, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Sen, Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin. Shapiro leads Mastriano by three points.

Bob Ward, partner and pollster at Fabrizio Ward, said for voters over 50, it is an even closer race.

"There's a one-point lead for Shapiro over Mastriano," Ward reported. "And so, 50-plus voters, due to their size but also sort of the competitive nature of where the election is in the governor's race, will be impactful. Candidates need to pay attention to what's important to these voters."

In the Senate race, Democratic Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman has a six percentage-point lead over Republican TV personality Mehmet Oz. And 77% of those polled believe the state is "moving in the wrong direction."

Some 30% of Pennsylvania voters polled said the economy is working well for them. However, one of their biggest concerns, which may influence their votes in November, is rising prices. For Republicans polled, it is their highest priority, while Democrats cite gun safety as their top issue.

Matt Hogan, partner and pollster at Impact Research, said the results also show inflation is still a cross-party worry.

"When we test it on its own and ask them to rate the importance, we certainly see it's a dominant issue with Democrats as well, it just doesn't rise to quite the top when we ask them to pick which is the most important," Hogan explained. "We definitely see a surge in guns [as an important issue] following Uvalde."

Other issues emerging as important to voters include immigration for Republicans, and abortion access and honesty in government for Democrats. The survey, which reached nearly 1,400 likely Pennsylvania voters, was conducted this month via landline, cellphone and text message.

The Tennessee Titans are slated to get a new Nashville stadium, which experts are calling the most expensive publicly financed NFL stadium in the country, to replace the more than 20-year-old Nissan Stadium.

A new report by the Sycamore Institute said the Titans, along with the National Football League, plan to contribute $700 million, and the City of Nashville will cover the remaining $1 billion in construction costs.

Eric Harkness, executive director of the Sycamore Institute, said stadiums rarely generate enough new economic activity to offset public subsidies, and communities should examine whether the money could be better spent on schools, transportation or housing.

"Dollar-for-dollar, these investments don't pay for themselves," Harkness asserted. "It's really important to consider what those opportunity costs are."

Supporters of stadium building argue it provides jobs and spurs local economies through consumer spending and tourism. According to the report, since 2021, state and local lawmakers have approved spending taxpayer dollars for at least five pro-sports venues in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Harkness added he understands stadiums may have other, non-economic impacts, such as fostering a sense of community and identity.

"And I think a lot of it boils down to that sense of civic pride," Harkness acknowledged. "Wanting to make our city be a more national gem."

According to the report, nationwide, the share of direct public financing for NFL stadiums has dropped over the past 35 years. One study estimates taxpayers covered about 75% of construction costs between 1987 and 2008, compared with 25% in the years after.