Letter regarding S. 388, the “American Family Economic Protection Act”

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

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, strongly opposes the motion to proceed to S. 388, the “American Family Economic Protection Act.” This legislation would fail to address the federal government’s spending problems and would, instead, replace spending cuts with tax increases.

The Chamber has long stated that the sequester is bad public policy and should be replaced with prioritized spending cuts. But, this legislation would be worse than even the sequester. It would not prioritize less spending; rather, it would impose new taxes on businesses in specific industries. Like the sequester, this approach is not the answer.

S. 388 employs political rhetoric rather than seeking to implement good policy. It would increase taxes on some of the same successful small businesses that, just six weeks ago, were dealt a massive tax hike as a result of the fiscal cliff legislation. It also contains provisions that target American worldwide companies, moving the Code further from the territorial tax system we need to make American businesses more competitive in a global marketplace.

Further, targeting companies for punitive tax treatment that are involved in importing energy resources from Canada, our longstanding strategic and economic ally, will do little to get the U.S. economy back on track. Rather, such a provision could further impair the economy of the entire North American region.

The Chamber strongly opposes S. 388. Rather than punishing America’s job creators, the Chamber urges the President and Congress to focus on comprehensive tax and entitlement reform to get the American Economy back on track.

Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten