Letter Opposing a Provision, Included in H.R. 847, the "James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010," Related to the Taxation of Foreign Owned Companies

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, urges that a provision related to taxation of foreign owned companies be removed from H.R. 847, the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010,” because H.R. 847 is an inappropriate vehicle for such esoteric and unrelated concerns.

The Chamber strongly opposes a tax on foreign-owned companies doing business in the United States. The provision included in H.R. 847 would raise taxes on foreign corporations that invest and create jobs domestically, would discourage foreign investment in the United States, override long-standing tax treaties, damage U.S. relationships with major trading partners, and could prompt retaliation by foreign governments against U.S. companies operating abroad.

Furthermore, the provision would further aggravate already unsettled financial markets. At a time when governments around the world are enhancing their companies’ competitiveness by cutting corporate taxes, this provision would create an even more hostile tax environment in the United States. Such a provision sends precisely the wrong message to those firms wanting to invest in America.

This taxation provision should not be shoehorned into H.R. 847, which is legislation targeted at the needs of some responders to the 9/11 terrorist attack. Should Congress seek to consider tax-related legislation during the few remaining session days before the election, the Chamber believes Congress should take up legislation that would help promote economic growth, especially legislation to extend all of the expiring 2001 and 2003 tax provisions and the tax provisions that expired at the end of 2009.

Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten