There is a growing number of billionaires withholding money from the government, usually in the form of offshore bank accounts used to hide a portion of their income. It has been estimated that about 100 billion dollars have been withheld from the government from these tax cheats, leaving a tremendous loss in revenue for the government to pay for its funding and programs. Due to this substantial loss, the United States Senate is starting to address this problem with more fervor than ever before.

The Senate is attempting to identify how these rich tax-withholding citizens are committing this crime. encrypted computers, fake charitable trusts, anonymous wire transfers, counter-surveillance, and even codes names have all been ways that they are accomplishing the crime. Thanks to witnesses coming forward from one of the world’s largest privately-owned bank, the Senate is closer to catching those committing tax fraud.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the top 0.01% of the United States population, which roughly equals 14,000 individuals, holds 22% of the nations wealth, while 90% of the population holds a mere 4% of the nations wealth. With this large disparity of wealth, the Senate is working hard to close tax loopholes and make these tax-evaders pay for their crimes.