Miller, Estes Send Letter to Treasury Secretary on the Biden Administration's Global Tax Minimum Negotiations with OECD
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined Congressman Ron Estes (R-KS) and eleven of their Ways and Means Committee colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to express their concern and address the Biden Administration’s global tax minimum negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Click here to read the full letter.
"To be abundantly clear: Congress controls tax policy, not the Biden Administration,” said Congresswoman Miller. “The current tax negotiations with the OECD will effectively send American tax dollars to fund global socialist programs, instead of serving our families and funding our military. We will continue to demand Secretary Yellen stops conceding to unelected bureaucrats and undermining Congressional authority.”
"Secretary Yellen and Biden negotiators have put America last as they make tax deals that undermine our sovereignty and harm the U.S. economy and jobs," said Congressman Estes. "Rep. Miller and I are demanding answers and accountability from Treasury to safeguard our U.S. tax base from the disastrous tax scheme cooked up by Biden officials who, ignoring concerns from Congress, are putting the interests of foreign countries over the American people."
The letter has been signed by the following members of the Ways and Means Committee: Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV), Ron Estes (R-KS), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Blake Moore (R-UT), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Mike Carey (R-OH).
On Biden Administration’s global tax negotiations with the OECD:
We write to you today to express our continued frustration and grave concerns with the Biden Administration’s unprecedented and anti-America concessions throughout the OECD global tax negotiations. Rather than consult with Congress, you have chosen to go it alone, undermining American sovereignty and making commitments that you have no authority to effectuate.
On Treasury Department’s failed consultation with Congress:
It is unacceptable that the Treasury Department has repeatedly failed to consult with Congress on a matter that puts at risk jobs and U.S. tax revenues. The neglect of this constitutional duty undermines the principles of transparency and democratic governance upon which our nation is built. As elected representatives and members of the Ways and Means Committee, we must vehemently protest this disregard for the checks and balances that ensure responsible decision-making and the protection of American interests.
On the impact of the negotiated global tax on Americans:
Worse, you have abandoned your sworn duty to protect U.S. interests both domestically and throughout the world. At virtually every step in the negotiations process you have chosen America last. Your concessions during Pillar Two negotiations will result in U.S. companies paying more tax overall, but less to the United States. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the U.S. fisc will lose between $56 billion and $122 billion in tax revenue if Pillar Two is adopted globally. The message that you and the Administration are sending is clear: foreign governments win, while U.S. companies and taxpayers lose.
On the economic impact of the negotiated global tax on U.S. companies:
You have ignored numerous congressional requests for estimates of the economic impacts on U.S. companies and U.S. tax collections due to reallocating profits to jurisdictions based on end market sales rather than based on where the profit is earned, as required under current law renewed most recently during the Tax Subcommittee’s Hearing on Biden’s Global Tax Surrender Harms American Workers and our Economy . The failure to provide these economic impact estimates can mean only one of two things. First, you are recklessly negotiating a novel global agreement of unprecedented proportions without knowing its impact on U.S. businesses, U.S. tax collections, and the U.S. economy. Alternatively, you are intentionally withholding the information from Congress. Either way, it is an egregious dereliction of your sworn obligation to confer with Congress and undermines your ability to best represent the interests of the United States and its citizens.
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