We hear the GOP talk about closing loopholes…….we also hear Obama and the boyz speak on the need to close tax loopholes……well it seems we have bi-partisan deal working, right?
I recently did a three part series about “Rates or Reform? In these post I listed the most common tax deductions for the individual, small businesses and large corporations and then I asked if any of those would be acceptable to eliminate……NONE of them will be touched…….so with that said……what are these loopholes that both parties are saying that need to be closed?
I say that closing loopholes will not do anything to help the budget……it is a con job or at best just code for corporate tax reform…..where NO loopholes get closed, rather corporations just get more help with the avoidance of paying taxes…and then there is one LARGE loophole that should be included but will not be for the obvious reason…..
The top 83 US-based companies now hold a massive $1.45 trillion offshore, parked in low-tax countries, after increasing those holdings by 14.4%—or $183 billion—just in the last year, reports Bloomberg. The leader in offshore profit parking is GE (owner of MSNBC), with $108 billion, up $6 billion from last year, followed by Pfizer with $73 billion. Tech giants Google, Apple, and Microsoft increased their non-US holdings by 34% last year and $75.2 billion over the past two years. Experts say the rise is due to US tax laws, which incentivize booking profits offshore, and estimate the total amount all US companies (not just the top 83) are keeping offshore could be $1.9 trillion. “The corporate system is broken and it’s broken primarily because of international,” says one professor of tax law. The United States is one of the few countries that applies its full 35% corporate tax rate to profits made by US-based companies’ overseas offices, but companies can defer paying taxes until they return those profits home. Congress is working on alternative tax strategies—such as levying a much smaller tax on accumulated earnings, whether repatriated or not—but for now, those stockpiles keep growing.
This is the sort of loopholes that should be in the mix…..but my guess is that they will skate like they always skate……any thoughts?
Does anyone have a good idea what is meant by the generalization of “closing loopholes”?
Once you shut down the revolving door where corporate minions keeping going back and forth between their high paying executives jobs and congress or the administration where they’re appointed to those agencies overseeing their particular industries then and only then will you have serious people in elective office that will get serious about closing such loopholes, unless of course you elect the Rand Pauls of this world who don’t think free-markets should have any oversight and taxes are seen as obstructions to entrepreneurship.
Larry, for me a substantial penalty and I do mean substantial, like 33% on every dollar withheld…..if the company is licensed here then its money should be here…..as far as using it overseas….did they ever hear of transfers?
See NO one can explain the term…….