Financial Privacy & Security Reports

Corporate tax avoidance leaves taxpaying households to pick up the tab for funding highways, schools, and other public structures. Much of the indirect costs of aggressive tax avoidance are also borne by investors who are unaware of these risky schemes. And everybody suffers when corporate profitability is determined by opportunities for tax evasion rather than efficiency or innovation.

One in four credit reports contains errors serious enough to cause consumers to be denied credit, a loan, an apartment or home loan or even a job.

Payday lenders commonly charge consumers a 521 percent annual interest rate in Lane County, and one in four lenders surveyed may not be complying with the Oregon rule to post the annual percentage rate where customers can easily read it.

States and localities across the country are fighting to ban ATM surcharges.

More than half of consumers who called their credit card company to complain about their high annual interest rates were successful in reducing those rates by an average of one-third.

More than one in four credit reports contains errors serious enough to cause consumers to be denied credit, a loan, an apartment or home loan or even a job.

A number of colleges in Maryland continue to allow aggressive credit card marketing to students, including tables offering free gifts for applying for a credit card.

Payday lenders charge consumers a staggering average interest rate of 521 percent in the City of Portland, and nearly half of the lenders surveyed are not complying with the requirement to post annual percentage rate where customers can easily read it.

Larger banks charge more in fees for checking and savings accounts than smaller banks and credit unions.