ATR President Grover Norquist today sent the following letter to Congressman Tim Scott (R-SC):
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform, I am pleased to support H.R. 937, the “Rising Tides Act of 2011.” I urge all Congressmen who believe in pro-growth economic policies to co-sponsor this bill. The American people want their elected officials in Washington to take economic problems seriously and react to these issues in a way that will grow the economy, curtail the government overspending problem, and put Americans back to work. Congressman Tim Scott is truly taking the lead by proposing an important pro-economic growth and job-creating measure.
If passed, H.R. 937 will drop the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent (the second highest in the developed world) to a much more competitive 23 percent. This will give an edge to businesses looking to develop, work, and invest in the United States by bringing the tax burden for American corporations down to a reasonable and competitive level.
While increasing U.S. competitiveness, H.R. 937 will simultaneously allow for permanent repatriation of foreign profits. Current estimates state that up to $1 trillion in foreign profits from U.S. businesses is just sitting overseas because any attempt to bring those profits back to the U.S. would make them liable to pay extremely high U.S. tax rates (on already taxed profits). The bill would allow all of the capital to flow back from overseas without the looming threat of high double taxation. The last repatriation tax holiday in 2005 (that actually still taxed companies only at a 5.25 maximum rate) brought in over $320 billion worth of capital that would otherwise have been invested elsewhere or simply sat overseas. The holiday also increased revenue by $17 billion just from the flood in of new capital. Making the measure permanent would also ensure that none of this type of capital will ever be passed up again.
With the unemployment rate still unsustainably high and the economy close to an all time low, Congressman Scott is taking the lead on encouraging pro-economic growth policy. This will lead to domestic investments and job creation here in the U.S. at a time when it is greatly needed.