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CEOs Submit Tax Reform Objectives to Grow Economy

SEP. 14, 2017

CEOs Submit Tax Reform Objectives to Grow Economy

DATED SEP. 14, 2017
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Melcher, David F.
    Ricks, David A.
    Luciano, Juan
    Huntsman, Peter R.
    Rohr, Mark C.
    Hunter, Mark
    Alles, Mark
    Boenigk, Rebecca
    Cook, Carl
    Kennedy, Thomas A.
    Coors, John K.
    Peterson, Douglas L.
    Jones, William J.
    Gendron, Thomas A.
  • Institutional Authors
    American Made Coalition Inc
    Aerospace Industries Association
    Eli Lilly and Co
    Archer-Daniels-Midland Co
    Huntsman Corp
    Celanese Corp
    Molson Coors Beverage Co
    Celgene Corp
    Neutral Posture Inc
    Cook Group Inc
    RTX Corp
    CoorsTek Inc
    Cummins-Allison Corp
    Woodward Inc
    S&P Global Inc
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2017-69769
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2017 TNT 179-43

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker
U. S. House of Representatives
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
S-230, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Kevin Brady
Chairman
House Committee on Ways and Means
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Orrin Hatch
Chairman
Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Secretary Steven Mnuchin
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

The Honorable Gary Cohn
Director, National Economic Council
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Chairman Brady, Chairman Hatch, Secretary Mnuchin and Director Cohn:

We are encouraged that Congressional leaders and the White House have seized this once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul our outdated tax code by unifying around bold reforms to transform our economy, make the U.S. more competitive globally, and generate faster job creation and economic growth. As the chief executives of major American employers, we believe effective tax reform depends on the three following priorities:

Significantly lower, competitive rates — The U.S. taxes businesses at the highest rates in the developed world. Significantly lowering these rates would enable companies to hire and train new workers, raise wages for workers already on the payroll, and invest in research and new equipment. Lowering rates to bring our tax code more in line with other developed countries also encourages businesses with a global footprint to expand their operations in the U.S.

The adoption of a territorial tax system — Tax reform should make the U.S. more competitive globally and end the tax incentive for U.S. firms to relocate overseas or be acquired by foreign-headquartered companies. American companies operating abroad already pay taxes in the countries where they do business. Our outdated, worldwide tax system discourages increased investment in the U.S., effectively trapping foreign earnings in other markets and fueling the migration of American businesses to lower-tax countries. We can fix this imbalance by joining the rest of the developed world and no longer taxing the foreign earnings of companies based in the U.S. This change will help American businesses compete on an even playing field with our foreign-based competitors.

Permanent reforms — To generate real, sustainable growth, tax reform should be permanent. Few businesses would make significant new investments, if these changes are set to expire. Companies need to be confident these policies will still be in place for the long-term in order to make significant investment decisions. The only way to ensure that permanence is to adopt a plan that offsets lost revenue with economic growth and thoughtful base-broadening provisions that do not impose onerous new taxes on U.S. businesses competing abroad.

We know it will take time to enact the transformative change our economy needs, and we are pleased Congress and the administration are unified around shared principles to create that growth. This debate is bound to take many unexpected turns in the weeks ahead, but we hope tax-writers at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue focus on these broad principles to create a 21st Century tax code that will make the U.S. more competitive. If we miss this chance, it might take another 30 years before we get a similar opportunity to enact major tax reform.

Thank you for your steadfast work on tax reform. We look forward to our continued engagement with you as this work progresses.

Sincerely,

David F. Melcher
President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association

David A. Ricks
Chairman and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company

Juan R. Luciano
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, Archer
Daniels Midland Company

Peter Huntsman
President and CEO, Huntsman Corporation

Mark C. Rohr
Chairman and CEO, Celanese

Mark Hunter
President and CEO, Molson Coors Brewing Company

Mark J. Alles
CEO, Celgene

Rebecca Boenigk
CEO, Neutral Posture

Carl Cook
CEO, Cook Group Inc.

Thomas A. Kennedy
Chairman and CEO, Raytheon

John K. Coors
Chairman, CoorsTek

Douglas L. Peterson
President and CEO, S&P Global Inc.

William J. Jones
Chairman and CEO, Cummins Allison Corporation

Thomas A. Gendron
Chairman of the Board, CEO and President,
Woodward Inc.

CC:
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-204, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Democratic Leader
U.S. Senate
S-221, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510

DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Melcher, David F.
    Ricks, David A.
    Luciano, Juan
    Huntsman, Peter R.
    Rohr, Mark C.
    Hunter, Mark
    Alles, Mark
    Boenigk, Rebecca
    Cook, Carl
    Kennedy, Thomas A.
    Coors, John K.
    Peterson, Douglas L.
    Jones, William J.
    Gendron, Thomas A.
  • Institutional Authors
    American Made Coalition Inc
    Aerospace Industries Association
    Eli Lilly and Co
    Archer-Daniels-Midland Co
    Huntsman Corp
    Celanese Corp
    Molson Coors Beverage Co
    Celgene Corp
    Neutral Posture Inc
    Cook Group Inc
    RTX Corp
    CoorsTek Inc
    Cummins-Allison Corp
    Woodward Inc
    S&P Global Inc
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2017-69769
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2017 TNT 179-43
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