Make Them Pay

The most ridiculous idea I've seen recently is the one floating around to give the corporations a tax holiday on their accumulated overseas earnings. Here's the main facts: A company creates an overseas subsidiary to do business in other countries. It makes money and pays taxes wherever it operates, such as in Europe or Asia. The company also takes an accounting charge to US earnings for the taxes due to the US, but the actual payment is deferred until the cash is brought back to the US. The company receives a credit on its US taxes for the foreign taxes paid on that income - thus NO double taxation.

Now they want to get out of this tax liability - one already booked and owed. The overseas countries got their taxes, but the US - the home country which provides them existence - would not. That is utterly ridiculous.

Example: Cisco Systems with its CEO, John ("JohnBoy") Chambers. He co-authored an op-ed in the WSJ yesterday asking for this tax break. His co-author was president of Oracle. Both of them make millions of $ a year, but want more.

"One trillion dollars is roughly the amount of earnings that American companies have in their foreign operations—and that they could repatriate to the United States. That money, in turn, could be invested in U.S. jobs, capital assets, research and development, and more.

"But for U.S companies such repatriation of earnings carries a significant penalty: a federal tax of up to 35%. This means that U.S. companies can, without significant consequence, use their foreign earnings to invest in any country in the world—except here."

This article and the entire argument is first class sophistry. The companies have ALREADY booked the taxes they OWE to the US. There is no "penalty" - the tax is owed.

In the first place, the only money the company cannot reinvest is the money they OWE to the US government. The rest of the money - up to 65% - can be reinvested. Second, they already OWE that money and have reported that liability to their shareholders. Third, nothing makes them actually invest that money - they can use it for executive salaries or dividends or whatever. Claiming this is a job issue is a total LIE. US interest rates are extremely low. The companies can easily finance new investment for jobs with long term bonds. They are simply lying when they say this tax break is needed.

All JohnBoy and his clique want is another free ride to get more executive pay via stock options and other massive pay packages.

Here's a better idea: tax the entire worldwide earnings NOW. Let's collect this long overdue debt. Close this overseas earnings loophole forever.

Use the money to pay down US debt.

Word of the Day

"Coxcomb" - noun [$10]
Coxcomb means an ostentatiously conceited man, a dandy.
Sentence: Corporate coxcombs seem to think the world revolves around them, that they are Dukes or Princes. It's time to bring them down to learn about the common man & woman. Make them pay.