Obama’s Bid to End Offshore Tax Havens Faces Hurdle in Congress

[Joanne98]

Source: Bloomberg


May 5 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s plan to end tax breaks for U.S.-based multinational companies drew a skeptical response from fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill, indicating that his plan may face obstacles on its path through Congress.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, called for “further study” of Obama’s proposals within minutes of the president’s announcement yesterday. Representative Joseph Crowley, a Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said he’s wary because the tax changes would hurt Citigroup Inc., his New York district’s largest private-sector employer.

Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, said that any tax overhaul should not lead to “unintended consequences.”

Other Democrats, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York, support the proposal. Some lawmakers, including Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate finance panel, are still weighing the plan.

Obama proposed outlawing three offshore tax-saving strategies commonly used by companies such as Citigroup, General Electric Co., and Procter & Gamble Co. In doing so, he reignited debate about whether U.S. companies can remain competitive in world markets if they have to pay billions of dollars in taxes on foreign profits.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aaXFFJBizJtc

[ClarkUSA]

1. I'm surprised Sen. Barbara Boxer is behaving so cautiously. Baucus and Rangel, not so surprising.

[ChromeFoundry]

7. Barbara Boxer is owned... (Campaign Contributers)

Cisco
Intel
Comcast
Boeing
Viacom
Siemens
AT&T
Covad
Time Warner
Blue Cross Blue Shield
E*Trade
QualComm
T-Mobile
BellSouth
EBay
Genentech
MCI
Hewlett Packard
FedEx
SAP
National Semiconductor
Yahoo
SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP PAC FEDERAL
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
SONY
RAYTHEON COMPANY

http://www.campaignmoney.com/committee.asp?candidateid=S2CA00286&cycle=04&cnt=166&amt=604759&cname=Barbara+Boxer

[high density]

9. She loves cheap labor too

Last year she proposed green cards for everyone that comes here and goes to school, as long as they've already sucked a job off the market from an American when they graduate.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9094118
http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/record.cfm?id=298804

[ClarkUSA]

11. Yikes.

[L0oniX]

2. Gee ...is it getting a little stuffy sitting in the back pockets of the tax evading asscarrots?

[Winterblues]

3. It all boils down to Health Care

If Companies did not have to provide Health Care for their employees being competitive would not even be an issue. By placing the public health burden on business we cripple our Corporations and force them to find other avenues..

[harmonicon]

5. bingo

[lsewpershad]

4. We have

to keep a close eye who those who feel that they were elected by the people to carry out the wishes of the rich and powerful. Hopefully we will not continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

[OhioChick]

6. Now we'll see who owns who. n/t

[OhioChick]

8. GAO: 83% of big U.S companies, contractors use offshore tax havens

GAO: 83% of big U.S companies, contractors use offshore tax havens

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just issued a report showing that most of the nation's largest public companies and government contractors rely on offshore subsidiaries to do business and cut their tax bills. Some of these same firms — including big banks and insurers — have already received tens of billions in taxpayer money from the federal bailout fund.

Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, American International Group, American Express have set up hundreds of tax-haven subsidiaries, the report states. All have taken billions from the bailout fund. Pepsi and Caterpillar, both of which have received billions in tax dollars from being major government contractors, also shelter revenue in offshore subsidiaries, The Washington Post says.

There's a big "but," however: It's legal under the U.S. tax code.

Also, as the Post notes, GAO auditors did not review the companies' transactions to independently verify that the subsidiaries helped the companies reduce their tax burden. The GAO said only that the companies had subsidiaries located in jurisdictions considered tax havens and that historically the purpose of those subsidiaries is to cut tax costs.

Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), who requested the report, said they hope to persuade President-elect Obama to make such shelters illegal. They estimate the U.S. Treasury loses $100 billion each year.

More: http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/01/gao-most-big-us.html

[marshall]

10. Major hurdle: most of them are on the payola

And sadly that applies to both sides of the aisle.

[ihavenobias]

12. K & R n/t

[Triana]

13. Of course it does - the big corprat multinationals OWN Congress...

...they have EVERY SEAT at the table.

WE - on the other hand - are not even allowed in the ROOM.

[Triana]

14. "it would hurt Citigroup"

Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

:nopity:

Cry me a frackin river. WHO gives a crap?

To be more specific WHO UP THERE GIVES A CRAP about SOMEONE besides Citigroup and big multinationals?

ANYONE?

(cue crickets.....)