WASHINGTON – Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), representing 400 national and state organizations, today sent letters to the brothers Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, expressing strong support for their new legislation that would make it more difficult for American corporations to reincorporate in other countries in order to avoid paying federal income taxes. The bill is titled the Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014.
Americans for Tax Fairness staunchly opposes corporate inversions, which allow companies to continue to enjoy the benefits of operating in the U.S. while avoiding paying their fair share in federal income taxes. Pfizer recently attempted an inversion via a takeover of the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, an action that would cost taxpayers at least $1 billion in lost revenue according to a study by Barclays. Walgreens, which operates 8,200 stores across the United States, is also considering plans to renounce its “corporate citizenship,” which could bring which could bring Walgreen’s global tax rate down to half of the top rate in the U.S.
ATF Executive Director Frank Clemente, writing on behalf of the ATF coalition, wrote that “these inversions do not change anything about how the business is conducted or where it is managed – they are simply a way to avoid paying their fair share of taxes to the American people. Thankfully, your legislation would stop many of these schemes.”
Link to ATF letter to Sen. Carl Levin
Link to ATF letter to Rep. Sander Levin
Americans for Tax Fairness is a diverse coalition of 400 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.