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RATE Coalition Urges Corporate Tax Reform, Lower Rate

DEC. 6, 2012

RATE Coalition Urges Corporate Tax Reform, Lower Rate

DATED DEC. 6, 2012
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Barrington, Martin J.
    Hamberger, Edward R.
    Stephenson, Randall
    McNerney, Jim
    Merlo, Larry J.
    Smith, Frederick W.
    Mulally, Alan
    Falk, Thomas J.
    Maffei, Gregory B.
    Shay, Matthew
    Bush, Wes
    Swanson, William
    Fanning, Thomas A.
    Britt, Glenn A.
    McAdam, Lowell
    Dauman, Philippe P.
    Iger, Robert A.
  • Institutional Authors
    Reforming America's Taxes Equitably
    Altria Group, Inc.
    Association of American Railroads
    AT&T Inc.
    Boeing Company
    CVS Caremark
    FedEx Corporation
    Ford Motor Company
    Kimberly-Clark
    Liberty Media Corporation
    Liberty Interactive Corporation
    National Retail Federation
    Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Raytheon Company
    Southern Company
    Time Warner Cable
    Verizon Communications Inc.
    Viacom
    Walt Disney Company
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    Doc 2012-25159
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2012 TNT 236-33

 

December 6, 2012

 

 

The Honorable Dave Camp

 

Chairman

 

House Committee on Ways and Means

 

United States House of Representatives

 

1102 Longworth House Office Building

 

Washington, DC 20515

 

 

The Honorable Sander Levin

 

Ranking Member

 

House Committee on Ways and Means

 

United States House of Representatives

 

1102 Longworth House Office Building

 

Washington, DC 20515

 

 

The Honorable Max Baucus

 

Chairman

 

Senate Committee on Finance

 

United States Senate

 

219 Dirksen Senate Office Building

 

Washington, DC 20510

 

 

The Honorable Orrin Hatch

 

Ranking Member

 

Senate Committee on Finance

 

United States Senate

 

219 Dirksen Senate Office Building

 

Washington, DC 20510

 

 

Dear Chairmen Camp and Baucus and Ranking Members Levin and Hatch:

With the 2012 elections behind us, Congress now begins the challenge of solving America's fiscal cliff and laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth and job creation that will build on the momentum of President Obama's first term.

While campaigns -- particularly during presidential years -- are often contentious, the recent elections underscored the common ground that exists between Democrats and Republicans on the need to enact comprehensive tax reforms that will put American workers and American businesses on more sound footing and the urgency to act during the lame duck session to set the stage for reforms in early 2013.

In particular, each of you, along with the presidential candidates, has identified the need to reform America's tax code in order to make it more competitive globally. Specifically, President Obama and Governor Romney each called for a significant corporate rate reduction to as low as 25 percent and a simplification of the corporate tax system.

The 28 member companies and organizations of the RATE Coalition applaud these principles and stand ready to support you during the lame duck session and throughout President Obama's second term. Our organization believes that America simply can no longer afford a 35 percent statutory corporate tax rate (39.2 percent, including the average state rates) -- the highest in the industrialized world, a full 10 percentage points above the average of our OECD competitors. Our high statutory rate and complex tax code hinder investment in the U.S., discourage job creation on our shores and slow economic growth.

Simply put, in order to expand and build upon the job creation achieved under President Obama, the U.S. must enact comprehensive corporate tax reform with a significantly lower corporate tax rate.

Our coalition understands that this is not an easy proposition, especially given the current fiscal environment. Because of this, our member companies, which span various geographic and industry sectors and represent more than 30 million U.S. jobs, understand that base-broadeners, such as eliminating tax expenditures, may be necessary to achieve the significant reduction in the statutory rate that is required for the U.S. to better compete globally.

It has been over 25 years since comprehensive tax reform was enacted. Then, like now, the U.S. faced divided government and the prospects for reform at times seemed bleak. Yet, working in a bipartisan fashion, President Reagan and Members of Congress achieved comprehensive reform and a competitive tax system that helped fuel sustained economic growth.

Since the 1986 reforms were enacted, our trading partners have raced to reform their tax codes and lower their rates to grow their own economies. It is time for the U.S. to follow our own precedent and again work to pass reforms that will encourage investment here at home. If done properly, a lower corporate tax rate will benefit all U.S. businesses, as well as U.S. workers, and will encourage investment and job creation.

As leaders on tax reform, we encourage you to use the opportunity of a lame duck session to set the framework for comprehensive reform in early 2013. We stand ready to support you in this effort and thank you for your leadership.

Together, we can work to restore America's global competitiveness and boost economic growth.

Respectfully,

 

 

Martin J. Barrington

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Altria Group, Inc.

 

 

Edward R. Hamberger

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Association of American Railroads

 

 

Randall Stephenson

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

AT&T Inc.

 

 

Jim McNerney

 

Chairman, President and

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

The Boeing Company

 

 

Larry Merlo

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

CVS Caremark

 

 

Frederick W. Smith

 

Chairman of the Board and

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

FedEx Corporation

 

 

Alan Mulally

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Ford Motor Company

 

 

Thomas J. Falk

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Kimberly-Clark

 

 

Gregory B. Maffei

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Liberty Media Corporation and

 

Liberty Interactive Corporation

 

 

Matthew Shay

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

National Retail Federation

 

 

Wes Bush

 

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer

 

and President

 

Northrop Grumman Corporation

 

 

William Swanson

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Raytheon Company

 

 

Thomas A. Fanning

 

Chairman, President and Chief

 

Executive Officer

 

Southern Company

 

 

Glenn A. Britt

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Time Warner Cable

 

 

Lowell McAdam

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Verizon Communications Inc.

 

 

Philippe Dauman

 

President and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

Viacom

 

 

Robert A. Iger

 

Chairman and Chief Executive

 

Officer

 

The Walt Disney Company

 

cc:

 

President Barack Obama

 

Speaker John Boehner

 

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

 

Majority Leader Harry Reid

 

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Barrington, Martin J.
    Hamberger, Edward R.
    Stephenson, Randall
    McNerney, Jim
    Merlo, Larry J.
    Smith, Frederick W.
    Mulally, Alan
    Falk, Thomas J.
    Maffei, Gregory B.
    Shay, Matthew
    Bush, Wes
    Swanson, William
    Fanning, Thomas A.
    Britt, Glenn A.
    McAdam, Lowell
    Dauman, Philippe P.
    Iger, Robert A.
  • Institutional Authors
    Reforming America's Taxes Equitably
    Altria Group, Inc.
    Association of American Railroads
    AT&T Inc.
    Boeing Company
    CVS Caremark
    FedEx Corporation
    Ford Motor Company
    Kimberly-Clark
    Liberty Media Corporation
    Liberty Interactive Corporation
    National Retail Federation
    Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Raytheon Company
    Southern Company
    Time Warner Cable
    Verizon Communications Inc.
    Viacom
    Walt Disney Company
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    Doc 2012-25159
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2012 TNT 236-33
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