Corporate tax cuts add billions to the deficit while spending on American families gets short shrift
WASHINGTON – Frank Clemente, the executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, issued the following statement today in response to the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that resulted in the passage of H.R. 5771, a one-year extension of a large package of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. If the bill becomes law it will add $42 billion to the deficit over 10 years, creating pressure to further slash government services.
“It’s a bad signal to send to the American people that the first order of business after the election is to pass a slew of tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit corporations. Congress should prioritize passing legislation that helps ordinary people survive in this economy, not give more hand-outs to big corporations.
“If Congress wants to give tax breaks to corporations, it should pay for them by closing other tax loopholes that allow many corporations to pay nothing at all or to pay lower tax rates than many middle-class families. It’s simply a matter of fairness.
“The most disturbing part of this legislation is it provides $6.2 billion in tax breaks to companies that ship profits offshore. One of these loopholes – the Active Financing exception, otherwise known as the GE Loophole – benefits General Electric and big Wall Street banks. Congress should be closing offshore tax loopholes, not continuing them.”
Americans for Tax Fairness is a diverse coalition of 425 national and state organizations that collectively represent tens of millions of members. The organization was formed on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. ATF is playing a central role in Washington and in the states on federal tax-reform issues.
PRESS CONTACT
Contact: TJ Helmstetter, thelmstetter@americansfortaxfairness.org