WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, on Tuesday called on Congress to conduct an investigation into the offshore tax dodging uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in the “Paradise Papers.”

In a letter to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders urged the Budget Committee to investigate how much offshore tax evasion has contributed to the $20 trillion national debt.

“The offshore tax dodging uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in the ‘Paradise Papers’ raise serious questions about the integrity of our tax system and the ability of the top 1 percent to rig it in order to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else,” Sanders wrote in the letter. “Before the Senate considers tax reform we must fully investigate offshore tax haven abuse and come up with legislative solutions to prevent the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America from dodging U.S. taxes.”

The Paradise Papers – a leak of over 13 million files – reveal how corporations, billionaires and senior officials in the Trump Administration use complicated financial maneuvers to hide their income from the Internal Revenue Service. According to ICIJ, more than 30,000 people in the United States hide money offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

It has been estimated that wealthy individuals and profitable corporations in the U.S. are avoiding more than $166 billion in taxes every year by stashing their cash in the Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens.

To read Sanders’ letter, click here.