That message was delivered to Congressional tax writers when the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on international tax reform on February 24.
At the hearing, a panel of tax experts told lawmakers American companies and jobs they support will continue to move overseas if the U.S. tax code is not reformed. The panel of academics and a leading tax attorney said current international tax law puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage and discourages companies from repatriating profits earned overseas.
In a statement submitted to the official hearing record, FEI’s CPC-P called on lawmakers to create a territorial system that puts U.S. companies on an even footing with their foreign competition, removes disincentives for capital mobility and earnings repatriation, and brings U.S. rates in line with other developed countries.
The CPC-P statement emphasized that territorial tax proposals should not be limited to C-Corporations, calling on Congress to grant pass-throughs access to any new territorial tax regime if they are willing to pay tolling charges on retained foreign earnings.
The hearing may help lay the groundwork for legislation to address international tax reform. Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) has indicated he will push for a bill this year, and Ways & Means Tax Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany (R-LA) has said he will introduce international tax reform legislation by the end of March. Boustany has said his legislation will propose a lower corporate tax rate, innovation box and territorial system.
CPC-P members will discuss the need to include pass-throughs in any international tax reform proposal that Congress considers when it meets with Ways & Means Committee members during FEI’s Annual Committee on Private Company Policy Washington Fly-In on April 19.
A discussion regarding the CPC-P statement and a link to its full text can be found by clicking on the banner below.
