“It’s time for another repatriation holiday” writes Grover Norquist in The Daily Caller. “Back in 2004, Congress passed a bill that allowed corporations to bring back to the United States after-tax dollars earned in other countries relatively tax-free…
This ‘repatriation holiday’ was in effect for all of 2005. The result was that at least $320 billion of money was brought back to the United States. This increased corporate tax revenue by nearly $17 billion — tax revenue that otherwise would have been indefinitely deferred into the future. The money was used to fund pension plans, raise wages, create jobs, and invest in new plants and equipment…Today, multiple press reports indicate that over $1 trillion is sitting overseas right now, waiting for similar or better tax treatment to come home.”
In The Huffington Post, Eric Parker explains why “Why Grover Norquist Is the Most Powerful Republican in America”. For the last 25 years Grover Norquist has been influencing decision makers in Washington, “He's more powerful than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the Koch brothers, yet not many people have heard of Grover Norquist or his ‘Taxpayer Protection Pledge’… Politicians may come and go, but since 1985, Mr. Norquist has been getting an increasing number of Republicans to sign his tax pledge to the point where he now has 237 members of the House and 41 in the Senate at his disposal.”
“Norquist, Coburn duel over tax hikes” by Carrie Budoff Brown at POLITICO. For years Grover Norquist and Sen. Tom Coburn fought side by side against high taxes and government spending; now forced to deal a $14 trillion debt, the two conservatives find themselves in a face-off. “Norquist says it’s simple: No new taxes means no new taxes. Under no circumstances should Congress raise new revenues to solve the problem, he says… ‘I don’t have a bottom line. I’m open to solving our very acute problems,’ Coburn said Tuesday, when asked whether he would consider raising taxes.”
“Norquist vs. Republican Apostates” by Jonathan Chait with The New Republic. “…some Republicans and democrats want to cut a deal to reduce spending and increase revenue. A deal like that would violate basic Republican dogma, which holds that tax increases of any form are totally unacceptable under any circumstances, even if paired with large spending cuts…Norquist is a key enforcer of this dogma… Chambliss, Coburn and Crapo all argue that they wouldn't be violating the pledge if they signed a deal that lowers rates and closes loopholes while increasing revenue. The story is written in such a way as to give them the last word and leave the reader believing they're correct. In fact, they're not. The pledge explicitly rules out any promise to raise revenue through loophole-closing. Signatories promise to ‘oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.’”