“Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this important hearing today to examine Chairman Camp's international tax reform discussion draft.
“If there's one thing I think we can all agree on, it's that our corporate and international tax rules need to be reformed. The United States has one of the highest statutory corporate tax rates in the world, which many economists say acts as a barrier to domestic investment. We've also heard a lot about the so-called 'lockout effect' of the high corporate tax rate - where U.S. multinational companies don't bring their earnings home to the United States because of the repatriation tax. At the same time, our current system includes loopholes which allow companies to shift income from the United States to low tax or no tax jurisdictions.
“Therefore, I commend Chairman Camp for releasing his international tax reform proposal. As a Chinese philosopher once said, ‘a journey of a thousand steps begins with a single step.’ And I think Chairman Camp's proposal is a good ‘first step.’ The Chairman should be applauded for providing us with details on what he envisions our new international tax regime will look like. I am pleased to see that Chairman Camp's proposal included approaches for preventing erosion of the U.S. corporate tax base, which is a critical concern as we move forward with this type of international tax reform.
“That being said, I have many questions about Chairman Camp's proposal. For example, what impact would the proposal have on purely domestic companies and small businesses? Would the proposal encourage investment and job creation here in the United States? Although I think lowering our corporate tax rate on a revenue neutral basis is a worthy goal, can we lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent without eliminating important tax incentives that benefit job creation and investment in the United States, like the R&D tax credit? When it comes to lowering the top corporate rate to 25 percent on a revenue neutral basis, Chairman Camp has given us a map without street signs.
“So I'm glad we're having this hearing today to examine Chairman Camp's international tax reform proposal and answer some of these questions. Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here and I look forward to hearing your views on this important topic.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman."
