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Financial Reform

Report | TexPIRG | Budget, Financial Reform, Tax

What America Could Do with $150 Billion Lost to Offshore Tax Havens

Many corporations and wealthy individuals use offshore tax havens—countries with minimal or no taxes—to avoid paying $150 billion in U.S. taxes each year. By shielding their income from U.S. taxes, corporations and wealthy individuals shift the tax burden to ordinary Americans, who must pick up the tab in the form of cuts to public services, more debt, or higher taxes. The $150 billion lost annually to offshore tax havens is a lot of money, especially at a time of difficult budget choices. To put this sum in perspective, we present 16 potential ways that income could be used.

Issue | Financial Reform

Reining in Wall Street

We’re fighting for a financial regulatory system that guarantees consumers and taxpayers are protected from the predatory practices at the heart of this problem.

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

New Report Highlights Reasons for New Consumer Protections

TexPIRG Education Fund and Americans for Financial Reform released the report to highlight that on July 21 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) starts its job as the first federal agency with the sole mission of ensuring fair play in the consumer financial marketplace. Nearly three-quarters of voters (74%) are in favor of the agency. The report makes clear just how important the CFPB is to protecting consumers.

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

New consumer agency starts to protect Americans from deceptive practices

Statement of Melissa Cubria, TexPIRG, On Passage of HR 1315  to Weaken Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

Historic Wall Street Reform Ready For Final Passage

Responding to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Senate this morning passed a motion to proceed (“cloture vote,” with 60 “Yes” votes required) on the Wall Street reform legislation.

Report | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

Big Banks, Bigger Fees

Since Congress largely deregulated consumer deposit (checking and savings) accounts beginning in the early 1980s, the PIRGs have tracked bank deposit account fee changes and documented the banks’ long-term strategy to raise fees, invent new fees and make it harder to avoid fees.

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

New Survey Shows Banks Still Hiding Fees from Consumers

A survey of more than 500 bank branches released today by the Texas Public Interest Research Group revealed that fewer than half of branches obeyed their legal duty to fully disclose fees to prospective customers, while one in four provided no fee information at all.

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Track for July Launch

Six months after Wall Street reform legislation creating the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was signed, a leading coalition released Halfway to the CFPB: An AFR Progress Report on “Standing Up” the New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

News Release | TexPIRG | Financial Reform

House Approves Wall Street Reform Package

Responding to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the House today approved the conference report on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, HR 4173. The bill is strong medicine to rein in Wall Street and protect consumers, investors and taxpayers from further financial meltdowns. 

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