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Camp, Hatch Call for Unity From Businesses on Tax Reform

DEC. 14, 2012

Camp, Hatch Call for Unity From Businesses on Tax Reform

DATED DEC. 14, 2012
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December 14, 2012

 

 

Washington, DC -- Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) sent a letter to heads of the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) responding to the President Obama's call for a corporate tax reform only approach to tax reform as a means of averting the fiscal cliff. In the letter, the two reaffirmed their support for comprehensive tax reform and noted that, "Reforming some portions of the tax code but ignoring others will not only leave the code entangled with provisions that restrict businesses, but it will leave out a huge sector of job creators, threatening to further hamper our economic recovery."

Below is the full text of the letter:

 

* * * * *

 

 

December 14, 2012

 

 

James McNerney, Jr., Chairman

 

Business Roundtable

 

300 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Suite 800

 

Washington D.C. 20001

 

 

Dan Danner, President

 

National Federation of Independent Business

 

53 Century Blvd, Suite 250

 

Nashville, TN

 

 

Gentlemen:

We are writing to express our concern about recent comments from members of the business community regarding tax reform and the ongoing negotiations over the so-called "fiscal cliff."

As you are aware, 10 months ago the White House proposed a rough outline of how to overhaul the tax code for corporations without reforming it for individuals and small businesses. Some now report that the Administration is seeking a corporate-only tax reform approach as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations, and certain members of the business community appear eager to support such an exercise. We believe, however, that pursuing corporate tax reform as a separate measure while addressing the deficit through tax increases on small businesses would hinder comprehensive tax reform efforts and do serious harm to small businesses throughout the country.

Many small businesses -- including partnerships, LLC's, and S corporations -- are taxed under the individual tax rate structure, with income from these entities flowing through to the individual owners' tax returns. As a result, these businesses will face significant tax hikes under a central component of President Obama's proposal: raising the top two individual marginal tax rates. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, 53 percent of all flow-through business income would be subject to higher tax rates under the President's proposal. These employers -- often the businesses we find along the Main Streets of our hometowns -- need and deserve tax reform as much as any large corporation.

Make no mistake, we believe that it is vital that we reduce the corporate tax rate and reform our international tax rules to encourage economic growth, improve our nation's competitiveness, and, most importantly, to create jobs. However, such growth and job creation will not come from corporate tax reform alone. Reforming some portions of the tax code but ignoring others will not only leave the code entangled with provisions that restrict businesses, but it will leave out a huge sector of job creators, threatening to further hamper our economic recovery.

Furthermore, the practical reality is that there simply is not enough money on the individual side of the tax code to achieve the size of tax increases the President is seeking. In endorsing the President's push for higher tax rates, you are also risking some of your own top priorities for tax reform -- such as shifting from a worldwide to a territorial system and bringing our corporate rate in line with the OECD average.

The President's latest gambit is clearly meant to divide the business community on the issue of tax reform. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, we urge business groups and the companies they represent to remain united in their support for comprehensive tax reform that benefits, not only large companies and corporations, but small businesses as well.

Thank you for your attention regarding this important matter.

Sincerely,

 

 

Orrin G. Hatch

 

Ranking Member

 

Senate Committee on Finance

 

 

David Camp

 

Chairman

 

House Committee on Ways and Means

 

cc:

 

A.O. Smith Corporation

 

ABB Inc.

 

Abbott Laboratories

 

ACE Group

 

ADP

 

AES Corporation

 

Aetna

 

AGCO

 

AK Steel Corporation

 

Alcoa

 

Altec, Inc.

 

American Express

 

Amerigroup

 

Ameriprise Financial

 

Apache Corporation

 

Arch Coal, Inc.

 

AT&T

 

Avery Dennison Corporation

 

Avis Budget Group

 

Ball Corporation

 

Bank of America

 

Bausch & Lomb Incorporated

 

Bayer AG

 

Bechtel Group, Inc.

 

BlackRock

 

BNSF Railway

 

Boeing

 

BorgWarner Inc.

 

Brinks Company

 

C. V. Starr & Co., Inc.

 

Caesars Entertainment

 

Campbell Soup Company

 

Cardinal Health

 

Caterpillar

 

CBRE, Inc.

 

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

 

CH2M Hill Companies, Ltd.

 

Chesapeake Energy Corporation

 

Cigna Corporation

 

Citigroup

 

Cognizant

 

Comcast

 

Convergys Corporation

 

Corning Incorporated

 

Crane Co.

 

CSC

 

CSX

 

Cummins, Inc.

 

CVS Caremark

 

Darden

 

DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc.

 

Deere

 

Dell

 

DIRECTV, Inc.

 

Dow Chemical

 

Duke Energy Corporation

 

DuPont

 

Eastman Chemical Company

 

Eaton Corporation PLC

 

Eli Lilly and Company

 

EMC Corporation Exelis

 

Express Scripts

 

Exxon Mobil

 

FedEx

 

Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc.

 

First Solar

 

Fluor Corporation

 

FMC Corporation

 

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

 

Frontier Communications Corporation

 

Gannett

 

General Electric

 

Goldman Sachs Group

 

Grant Thornton LLP

 

Harman International Industries, Inc.

 

Harris Corporation

 

Hasbro, Inc.

 

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.

 

Honeywell International

 

Humana

 

Ingersoll Rand

 

International Franchise Association

 

International Paper

 

ITC Holdings Corp.

 

ITT Corporation

 

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

 

Johnson & Johnson

 

Johnson Controls

 

Kelly Services, Inc.

 

Kindred Healthcare

 

KPMG

 

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

 

Marathon Oil

 

MassMutual Financial Group

 

MasterCard

 

McDermott International, Inc.

 

McKesson

 

Medtronic, Inc.

 

Merck

 

Meredith Corporation

 

Meritor, Inc.

 

NASDAQ OMX

 

National Association of Manufacturers

 

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors

 

National Gypsum Company

 

Navistar

 

NextEra Energy, Inc.

 

Norfolk Southern Corp.

 

Northrop Grumman

 

Nucor Corporation

 

Owens Corning

 

PepsiCo

 

Pfizer

 

PG&E Corp.

 

Phillips 66

 

Praxair, Inc.

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited

 

Principal Financial Group

 

Procter & Gamble

 

Qualcomm Incorporated

 

R R Donnelley

 

RATE Coalition

 

Realogy Holdings Corp

 

Rockwell Automation

 

Rockwell Collins

 

Ryder System, Inc.

 

S-Corp Coalition

 

Sanofi

 

SAP AG

 

SAS

 

Sealed Air Corporation

 

Siemens Corporation

 

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

 

State Farm Insurance Cos.

 

Suffolk Construction Company

 

SunGard

 

Target

 

Tenet Healthcare Corporation

 

Tenneco, Inc.

 

Textron, Inc.

 

The Hartford

 

The McGraw-Hill Companies

 

The Travelers Companies

 

The Williams Companies

 

Time Warner

 

Tishman Speyer

 

TransCanada Corporation

 

Tyco

 

United Technologies

 

Universal Health Services, Inc.

 

U.S. Chamber

 

Verizon Communications

 

Viacom, Inc.

 

Visa, Inc.

 

W.W. Granger, Inc.

 

Wal-Mart Stores

 

WellPoint

 

WESCO International, Inc.

 

Weyerhaeuser Company

 

Whirlpool Corporation

 

Windstream Corporation

 

World Fuel Services Corporation

 

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

 

Xerox Corporation
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