Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation Wednesday to permanently lower the tax rate on money businesses make overseas and bring back to the U.S.
Reducing the "excessive" tax from 35 percent to 5 percent would create millions of jobs and inject $1 trillion into the economy, he said in a news release.
“American companies want to bring their earnings back here, build out their infrastructure, and invest in their domestic workforce, but current law makes it punitive to do so," he said. "We should be lowering those barriers and encouraging American companies to invest in this country, increase wages and create new jobs."
"American companies want to bring their earnings back here, build out their infrastructure, and invest in their domestic workforce, but current law makes it punitive to do so." Sen. Mike Lee
Unlike recent repatriation “holidays,” which last a short period of time, Lee’s bill would make the lower rate permanent. Previous tax breaks, such as the one in 2004, had minimal effect because they did not provide a long-term incentive for companies to invest in infrastructure or new jobs, he said.
Lee said a J.P. Morgan study showed undistributed earnings from American companies’ foreign operations could be close to $1.4 trillion. Research by a former Congressional Budget Office director predicted repatriated assets could create about 3 million new jobs.
Lee's proposal comes in the form of an amendment to a bill under consideration in the Senate. If it is not accepted, he said he would offer it as a stand-alone legislation.
Email:dromboy@ksl.com
