A new report finds that states are actually being denied billions of due to rich individuals and large corporations using offshore tax havens.

The report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group concludes that tax havens cost state governments $39.8 billion in lost revenues in 2011. Corporations were responsible for $26 billion of this revenue loss.

Here are the states that faced the most revenue loss:

  • California: $7.14 billion in lost revenue
  • New York: $4.27 billion in lost revenue
  • New Jersey: $2.8 billion in lost revenue

Since the recession began, states haveAi??laid off over 130,000 teachersAi??because they lack the funds to keep them hired. Cracking down on these tax havens would be one way to re-hire those teachers and to spend money on badly-needed infrastructure.