The Middle-Class: Shouldering the Burden of Corporate Tax Havens and the Encumberment of Economic Globlization

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which corporate tax evasion and other vehicles of economic globalization may infringe upon the prosperity of the middle class. Corporate tax evasion has increasingly taken form in offshore financial centers, allowing wealthy individuals and corporations to engage in tax evasion, resulting in substantial losses in government tax revenues. While this loss is being compensated for by increased taxes upon the middle class, this demographic is also suffering from the slashing of programs and state-sponsored benefits due, in part, to the pervasive losses in government revenue. After exploring the effects of offshore financial centers and economic globalization on national prosperity, I will evaluate counter movements to the phenomenon as well as the legislative response designed to quell its implications, ultimately suggesting a global reform effort for the purpose of middle-class liberalization and increasing economics egalitarianism.