Posted on 05/04/2009 2:57:43 PM PDT by reaganaut1
President Barack Obama promised sternly on Monday to crack down on companies ''that ship jobs overseas'' and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. It won't be easy. Democrats have been fighting -- and losing -- this battle since John F. Kennedy made a similar proposal in 1961. Obama's proposal to close tax loopholes was a reliable applause line during the presidential campaign, but it got a lukewarm response Monday from Capitol Hill.
Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the plan needed further study, even though similar ideas have been around for years.
...
But [Obama] faces stiff opposition -- even within his own party -- to increasing taxes on the legal transactions of U.S. multinational companies.
A coalition of business groups has already stepped up lobbying efforts to kill attempts to increase taxes on overseas profits, saying it would make American companies less competitive.
''We're talking about American jobs at American companies and their ability to compete overseas,'' said John J. Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable.
At issue is the way the U.S. taxes the overseas profits of American companies. Under current law, American corporations with subsidiaries in foreign countries can defer paying U.S. taxes on the profits of those subsidiaries until the money is transferred back to this country.
If companies leave the money overseas, where corporate tax rates in most countries are lower than in the U.S., they can avoid American taxes on those profits indefinitely. If the money is brought to the U.S., corporations can subtract foreign taxes already paid.
The U.S. has a top corporate income tax rate of 35 percent, which is among the highest in the developed world.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So the Idiots that write the tax code and benefit from the tax code are leary...
It’s the usual shakedown. Obama threatens the super-wealthy contributors to the Democrat party on one end while the congressional dems collect more dough from them for not passing the threatened laws on the other.
Isn’t everybody wise to this routine by now?
Congressional dems are not going to let that out of committee, they are the biggest contributors to offshore accounts, they are not going to commit financial suicide when it involves their own money and taxes.
Tom Friedman is wrong, It is not India we have to worry about.
We need to worry about the Soviet Stan's, Poland and Ireland with Corp Tax rates between 19 and 12.5%
You want more revenue Barack>
Never mind the Loopholes, lower the Corp Tax Rate to equal the Cap Gains and Dividend Tax of 15%.
Obviously a great idea, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
It takes some analytical ability to understand that routine and the one where Congress gets donations for creating loopholes. However, people are encouraged to go with their feeling rather than their minds. So, the answer to your question is an emphatic "NO".
I suspect Congress doesn’t want the American people to know that the #1 user of off-shore accounts might be American Congressmen.
Right you are. They are not going to bite the hand that feeds them. Campaign coffers would suffer.
If we make it much harder for American companies to compete, we can expect more to move to other countries. Are we better off, with Halliburton having become a Dubai company? Will we be better off if hundreds of other companies leave the US?
It takes some analytical ability to understand that routine and the one where Congress gets donations for creating loopholes.
Barry AGAIN is threatening people. Chicago Style. What pathetic attempt. Dontcha FEEL the power of the Hammer and Cycle? LOL! The communist Gas Bags are a joke.
Let’s say that a factory in Mexico owned by a US company is taxed at 35%. However, a competing factory owned by a China company is only taxed at 15%. In the long run, which will grow faster and put the other out of business?
In fact that US company may be better off overall to sell its Mexican factory to that Chinese company. Now that will make the people of the US better off, won’t it?
Obama wants to destroy the free-market system of the US.
From www.patriotpost.us May 8, 2009
Income Redistribution: Obama Goes After Business Taxes
On Monday, President Obama proposed changes to international tax rules for corporations that would eliminate overseas tax havens and get U.S. companies that earn money internationally to pay their “fair share.” Or as economist Larry Kudlow put it, “Obama unleashed yet another attack on international businesses, essentially calling them unpatriotic tax cheats even though they abide by existing laws.” Included in the reform proposal is a curb on corporations’ ability to park international earnings overseas and avoid U.S. tax, a change of the legal status of international subsidiaries, and the addition of 800 employees to the IRS to target companies and individuals who use tax havens. “Closing these loopholes and investing the money in American jobs will help millions of American families regain some of the economic security they lost in recent years,” said Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). So the government will take money from corporations and create jobs with it? Right. Meanwhile, bailout recipient GM just announced that many of the company’s new jobs will be overseas.
Obama figures to raise an additional $200 billion in revenue from this new structure, and businesses can expect an 8- to 15-percent tax hike. Considering the state of the economy (8.9 percent unemployment, 539,000 lost jobs in April), it’s hard to imagine a worse move. Obama says that he wants to keep more jobs in the U.S., but higher business taxes will only send them away. American businesses already pay higher taxes than most of the other industrialized nations (35 percent versus an average of 24 percent), and the tax deferrals are a way of leveling the playing field. If taken away, many U.S. industries will suffer. It’s hard to understand why the Democrats don’t see that, but when you consider the proposal is backed by the likes of Rangel and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who are tax cheats themselves, it’s almost possible to appreciate their skewed view of the situation.
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