I received this press release from Clark Gascoigne of The Fact Coalition, an organization that acts as a watchdog and taxpayer advocate. His articles and statements have appeared in Fortune Magazine, The Huffington Post, and various other prestigious publications. If this upsets you, please contact your Congressperson. If we all make our voices heard, we can accomplish change.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 9, 2017
House Advances Tax Bill that Increases Offshoring of Jobs & Profits
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s voted 24-16 to advance proposed tax legislation (H.R.1) Thursday afternoon, after making some last-minute amendments. The bill, which now moves to the House floor next week, maintains measures that grant multinational corporations a discounted tax rate on the profits they currently hold offshore, while exempting many profits booked offshore from future taxation, according to the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.
Clark Gascoigne, the deputy director of the FACT Coalition, issued the following statement:
“Today’s changes to the House tax bill did little to address the incentives for companies to offshore profits and jobs. The differences in tax rates still favor overseas profits to those booked at home. And, it still entirely exempts oil and gas companies, mining companies, and financial services firms from all taxes on their profits booked offshore.
“We are still reviewing the changes to the excise tax on profit-shifting but, after gutting the provision earlier this week, the most recent changes appear only to restore a portion of the anti-gaming measure.
“Despite minor changes to the rates on repatriated profits, the tax break is still worth hundreds of billions of dollars on profits already earned. There is simply no economic case for discounted tax rates on economic activity that’s already happened.
“This legislation remains out of step with the American people, who overwhelmingly oppose these types of tax giveaways to tax dodgers.”
