What are our priorities?

Next week, leaders from across the world will gather at the G8 Summit in Ireland. One of the discussions will be whether to plug a gigantic $1 trillion per year corporate tax loophole - enough money to end poverty, put every child in school, and double green investment!  $1 trillion is more than every country combined spends on their military. It's bigger than the budgets of 176 nations. It's $1,000 for every family on this planet.

$1 trillion is also the amount that our largest corporations and wealthiest individuals evade each year in taxes.

Apple, one of the world's wealthiest companies (headquartered right here in California), paid basically $0 in tax on $78 billion they made in recent years by setting up shell corporations in low-tax countries and posting profits abroad. Ironically, Ireland is one of those countries.

California NOW has been talking about this problem for more than a year. Finally, at the G8 summit next week, world leaders will consider a plan that would make it harder for companies like Apple to evade taxes by hiding their money offshore and in tax shelters. The plan would require countries to share information to expose where the money is hidden and require "fake" companies to reveal who's really behind them.

Seems like a no-brainer, right? So who's the holdout? The United States and Canada. Both countries are considering siding with corruption over this momentous step forward.

We can't let that happen. That's why we're supporting a petition to get 1 million signatures asking President Obama to sign on to this plan. We've already crossed the 500,000 mark - let's get the full million signatures so that the media has to pay attention and spotlight this demand. Click here to sign the petition NOW!

When governments everywhere are cutting spending on vital social priorities (that disproportionately impact women and girls), it's particularly galling that the wealthiest get a free pass from paying their fair share. It's even more disgusting when you consider the fact that the hard times were caused by massive government handouts to bailout banks owned by the same people who continue to evade taxes.

World leaders finally want to get serious about plugging these holes and they want powerful multinationals to pay their fair share in taxes. Unfortunately, President Obama has not signed on to supporting this action. We need him to feel the pressure of a million Americans demanding he stand with us - not with the 1%. Please sign the petition NOW and share it via social media asking everyone you know to sign it.

Together, our million voices are stronger and more powerful than the lobbyists. We just have to use them. Please join me in standing up for the other 99% on this planet.

For Equality & In Solidarity,

Patricia Bellasalma
President, California NOW