Center for Freedom and Prosperity
For Immediate Release
Monday, June 29, 2012
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
CF&P Applauds Exclusion of Anti-Tax Haven Legislation From Surface Transportation Bill
(Washington, D.C., Friday, June 29, 2012) The Center for Freedom and Prosperity is pleased to report that the Surface Transportation Bill as passed by Congress today did not include the Levin anti-tax haven amendment originally slipped into the Senate version by a voice vote. The amendment would have driven investment out of the US and cost American jobs. Two weeks ago the House defeated a non-binding motion to instruct the conferees to agree to the amendment, and it was ultimately dropped from the bill.
The amendment inserted provisions supposedly to “Stop Tax Haven Abuse,” but which would in reality have further undermined global capital flows and weakened the American economy. The effort was part of a long-running campaign on the part of Senator Levin to blame deficit problems caused by government overspending on global capital flows and tax competition.
This specific amendment would have expanded authority granted under the Patriot Act in order to give the Treasury Department unchecked powers to extend U.S. tax law beyond American borders. Treasury officials would have been required to spend resources tracking and analyzing jurisdictions around the world to determine the degree to which they bow to U.S. tax dictates. These officials have no special expertise to make such evaluations, and history suggests any national tax blacklist would be arbitrary and discriminatory, and would do nothing to advance U.S. economic interests.
“As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, Senator Levin will continue his crusade against so-called tax havens,” said CF&P President Andrew Quinlan. “Despite the pointlessly destructive and job-killing burdens created by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the Senator is determined to pile on with even more draconian authority for tax collectors to infringe upon basic economic and financial freedoms.”
Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute noted that, “I’m glad the Center for Freedom and Prosperity has been active on Capitol Hill, helping to educate lawmakers about the destructive impact of Senator Levin’s statist proposals.”
For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-218-4615, dmitchell@cato.org
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