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| Pfizer is one of a group of corporations that could benefit from a tax holiday. |
AP Photo |
Goaded by battalions of corporate lobbyists, members of Congress are
working to give a select group of U.S. multinational firms like Oracle,
Apple and Pfizer a lavish tax break on $1 trillion stashed offshore.
A
number of trade groups and corporations that would benefit have joined
in a coalition called WIN America. New lobbying disclosure reports show
that the group and its member firms have spent millions of dollars, and
employed dozens of lobbyists, to press for the tax break, according to
an analysis by
iWatch News.
The goal is to generate jobs and investment, but the
offshore tax holiday was tried before, in 2004, and the lion’s share of
the benefits went not to unemployed workers and their families but to
corporate shareholders and executives.
Defenders of the tax holiday say bringing money back from overseas
will be a net positive, adding an infusion of cash into the economy and
creating opportunities for new jobs. The New America Foundation has
estimated that the boost to the economy could ultimately lead to the
creation of from 1.3 million to 2.5 million jobs.
But other estimates say the proposed tax holiday could end up costing
the Treasury $40 billion to $80 billion over the next decade, and
critics are asking why corporations and their shareholders should get a
tax break on overseas profits, especially at a time of high
unemployment. The high cost of the measure is one reason that its
prospects for passage are mixed.
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