NAM Says Revival of Superfund Taxes Would Hurt Economy

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) -- the nation's largest industrial trade association -- strongly opposes current efforts by the Administration and Congress to reimpose $19 billion in Superfund taxes on American businesses. Manufacturers in particular would be hard hit by the proposal that includes a per barrel tax on crude oil and petroleum products as well as an excise tax on feedstock chemicals and a general corporate tax rate increase.

Recent reports confirm that the manufacturing sector and the broader U.S. economy continue to struggle to recover from a recession. Imposing an anti-manufacturing, anti-growth tax increase on companies at this time could further stifle our fragile economy and make us even less competitive in the global marketplace. Moreover, there is no evidence that the clean-up of so-called "Superfund" sites has been delayed or otherwise negatively impacted since the tax expired in 1995.

Reinstatement of the excise tax on chemicals represents a significant burden on NAM members, both as manufacturers and users of industrial chemicals. U.S. chemical manufacturers already operate with thin margins in a highly competitive global market. In addition, more than half of all manufacturers rely on chemical industry inputs in their production process. Imposing an excise tax raises production costs. Similarly, the proposed per barrel tax on oil and petroleum products would increase costs for a wide range of industrial consumers. Overall, these excise taxes will create a ripple effect throughout the economy, resulting in job loss and higher operating costs for manufacturers.

Moreover, manufacturers identified as "Potentially Responsible Parties" at Superfund sites already are participating in cleanup activities. These companies frequently are members of groups that fund cleanups and participate in investigations under Superfund. The groups also become responsible for so called "orphan share," particularly when EPA caps "orphan share" liability at the amount due for past costs. With the reimposition of the Superfund tax, these manufacturers will contribute three times towards site cleanup.

Because of the importance of this issue to manufacturers and our broader economy, NAM strongly urges you to reject any efforts to revive the Superfund taxes. The direct and indirect impacts of the taxes would unnecessarily divert manufacturers' resources away from investment in people, plants and equipment; diminish potential job creation; and weaken our country's global economic position.