Rep. Miller: "It's of the Utmost Importance that We Stop the OECD's Forced March to Socialism."
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) questioned a panel of witnesses in a Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee hearing on the impact on American companies if the global minimum tax was to take effect. She highlighted the Biden Administration’s failure to negotiate on behalf of the American taxpayer and how foreign governments will be profiting off American tax dollars.
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Congresswoman Miller began by asking how the Undertaxed Profits Rule (UTPR) would impact American companies.
“It's of the utmost importance that we stopped the OECD's forced march to socialism. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to our expert witnesses here today on how the Biden administration has failed the American people and attempted to abdicate key congressional responsibilities to unelected global bureaucrats who do not have our best interest in their heart in the slightest, said Congresswoman Miller. “Ms. Herzfeld, have experts warn the UTPR may violate the terms of bilateral tax treaties?”
“Yes, they have,” responded Ms. Herzfeld, Professor of Tax Practice, University of Florida Levin College of Law.
“Could you describe just how foreign governments could tax U.S. based companies under UTPR?” asked Congresswoman Miller.
“UTPR looks at every company multinational operates and it says ‘to the extent that anywhere in the world a company is not paying a 15% rate, then other countries have the right to tax that income and it includes also the parent company's income," continued Ms. Herzfeld. "So it means that if because of credits or other incentives, a U.S. company is not paying a 15% rate in the U.S. Other countries have the right to tax that income. Taxing another jurisdictions income is a treaty violation.”
Congresswoman Miller proceeded to ask more about how the global minimum tax would hurt the American economy.
“The OECD arrangement doesn't stop countries from competing to attract business, investment, and jobs. It just makes the current U.S. system less competitive. What makes this agreement as currently written so lopsided against the U.S. system, and what tools will countries use to compete if it is implemented?” asked Congresswoman Miller.
“I think that agreement shifts competition from tax rates which ultimately reduce economic inefficiencies. There's already been reporting of countries saying they’re going to compensate their largest businesses by passing on direct subsidies to compensate for the higher tax rates,” Mr. Michel, Director of Tax Policy Studies, CATO Institute responded. “And this just opens up a whole world of cronyism [and] corruption that comes along with attaching specific payments to specific companies and the lobbying that goes on behind it.”
“Would you consider that all these subsidies and incentives is a type of global socialism? Why would the United States negotiate our right to be a capitalist country? This doesn't make sense to me,” said Congresswoman Miller.
“It doesn't make sense to me either. It certainly incentivizes more government involvement in business decisions than simply lower tax rates,” responded Mr. Michel.
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