Among the foremost threats to individual freedom in America is the abusive and oftentimes lawless behavior…
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More Legal Shenanigans from the Biden Administration’s Department of Education

Among the foremost threats to individual freedom in America is the abusive and oftentimes lawless behavior of federal administrative agencies, whose vast armies of overpaid bureaucrats remain unaccountable for their excesses.

Among the most familiar examples of that bureaucratic abuse is the Department of Education (DOE).  Recall, for instance, the United States Supreme Court’s humiliating rebuke last year of the Biden DOE’s effort to shift hundreds of billions of dollars of student debt from the people who actually owed them onto the backs of American taxpayers.

Even now, despite that rebuke, the Biden DOE launched an alternative scheme last month in an end-around effort to achieve that same result.

Well, the Biden DOE is now attempting to shift tens of millions of dollars of…[more]

March 19, 2024 • 08:35 AM

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Home Press Room Conservative Leaders Call On President, Congress To Pass Corporate Tax Reform
Conservative Leaders Call On President, Congress To Pass Corporate Tax Reform Print
Wednesday, February 01 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 1, 2012) – Citing America’s sluggish economy, nearly two dozen of the nation’s leading free market advocacy and policy organizations yesterday called on President Obama and Congressional leaders to pass comprehensive reforms to the U.S. business tax system to get America working again and improve the country’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.  Led by the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF), the coalition urged leaders in Washington to include a substantial reduction in America’s corporate tax rate as part of the reforms.

“As the U.S. economy struggles to recover, and with the jobless rate now exceeding 8 percent for a record 35 consecutive months, it’s time for the president and Congress to set politics aside and pass meaningful tax reform to ensure America can compete around the globe,” said CFIF President Jeffrey Mazzella. “With more than 25 years passing since our nation last undertook comprehensive reform of the tax system, our international competitors have passed us by, reaping the benefits of a lower and more competitive corporate tax rate.”

The letter reads, “When the United States last passed comprehensive tax reform over 25 years ago, America’s tax rates were among the lowest and most competitive in the industrialized world. Today, as you are aware, America’s current federal rate of 35 percent stands as the second-highest amongst OECD countries and creates significant disadvantages for U.S.-based companies, while simultaneously discouraging foreign investment in the U.S. Together with Japan, the country with the highest corporate tax rate, the U.S. has seen a flight of both business and capital as companies look at lower-tax countries for investment opportunities.”

According to Ernst & Young, the U.S. and Japan suffered a net loss of 46 and 39 Fortune Global 500 company headquarters, respectively, between 2000 and 2011.  However, Japan is set to lower its corporate tax rate on April 1, leaving the U.S. with the highest in the industrialized world. 

Several studies, including studies from the Heritage Foundation and the Milken Institute, concluded that a significant reduction in the corporate tax rate could create 500,000 to 2.2 million jobs in the United States.  If the U.S. rate were reduced just modestly to 25 percent, according to the Heritage Foundation, the average family of four could realize additional income of $2,484 annually.  A reduction to below the OECD average of 25 percent would provide even greater benefits.

“Reducing the U.S. corporate rate to below the OECD average of 25 percent would help kick start the economy and create jobs, benefiting all Americans,” Mazzella continued.  “Lower rates will not simply benefit American business, but also American families and workers.”

The letter concludes, “On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we urge you to make comprehensive tax reform a top priority in 2012 for the benefit of American employers and American workers.”

The letter was delivered yesterday afternoon to The White House and Congressional leadership offices.  In addition to CFIF, other groups signing the letter include: 60 Plus Association, Americans for Job Security, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, American Values, Competitive Enterprise Institute, ConservativeHQ.com, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Faith & Freedom Coalition, Heartland Institute, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Less Government, Let Freedom Ring, Liberty Center for Law and Policy, Liberty Counsel, Liberty Counsel Action, National Taxpayers Union, RightMarch.com, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Tea Party Nation and The American Civil Rights Union.

Read the letter below. To download the entire letter, as it was delivered to The White House and Congress, click here (.pdf).

###


January 31, 2012

President Barack Obama                               
The White House                                           
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Harry Reid                             The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader                                                Republican Leader
United States Senate                                      United State Senate
Washington, DC 20510                                  Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John Boehner                        The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House                                     Democrat Leader
U.S. House of Representatives                     U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515                                  Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. President and Congressional Leaders:

At the start of this new year, America faces many challenges. Our economy remains sluggish, and we desperately need pro-growth policies to get America working again and improve our competitiveness in the global marketplace. Foremost among our priorities for 2012, however, must be comprehensive reform to America’s tax system. On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers across the country, we therefore urge you to pass comprehensive reforms to the U.S. business tax system, including a substantial reduction in America’s corporate tax rate.

When the United States last passed comprehensive tax reform more than 25 years ago, America’s tax rates were among the lowest and most competitive in the industrialized world. Today, as you are aware, America’s current federal corporate rate of 35 percent stands as the second-highest amongst OECD countries and creates significant disadvantages for U.S.-based companies, while simultaneously discouraging foreign investment in the U.S. Together with Japan, the country with the highest corporate tax rate, the U.S. has seen a flight of both business and capital as companies look at lower-tax countries for investment opportunities. For example, according to Ernst & Young, the U.S. and Japan suffered a net loss of 46 and 39 Fortune Global 500 company headquarters over the past decade, respectively.

Reducing the U.S. corporate rate to below the OECD’s average rate of 25 percent would help reverse that trend while also creating jobs and benefiting all Americans. Several studies, including studies from the Heritage Foundation and the Milken Institute, concluded that a significant reduction in the corporate rate could create 500,000 to 2.2 million jobs in the United States.

Lower rates will not simply benefit American business, but also American families and workers. According to Ernst & Young, America’s high tax rate heavily burdens workers, reducing wages and benefits approximately $100-$200 billion between 2000 and 2010. If the U.S. rate were reduced modestly to 25 percent, according to the Heritage Foundation, the average family of four could realize an additional income of $2,484 annually. 

Tax reform, therefore, is an issue that all Americans can support. Lower rates and a simpler code would incentivize America businesses to invest at home and hire more American workers. Lowering the corporate tax rate also would allow the U.S. to better compete with other countries in attracting investment from our traditional trading partners in North America and Europe, as well as the emerging economies of Latin America and Asia. 

Accordingly, on behalf of the undersigned organizations, we urge you to make comprehensive tax reform a top priority in 2012 for the benefit of American employers and American workers.

Sincerely,

Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Stephen DeMaura, President, Americans for Job Security
Phil Kerpen, Vice President, Policy, Americans for Prosperity
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
Gary Bauer, President, American Values
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
Iain Murray, Vice President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Richard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
Tom Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Gary A. Marx, Executive Director, Faith & Freedom Coalition
Eli Lehrer, Vice President, Heartland Institute
Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
Seton Motley, President, Less Government
Colin A. Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Mandi Campbell, Legal Director, Liberty Center for Law and Policy
Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Deryl Edwards, President, Liberty Counsel Action
Duane Parde, President, National Taxpayers Union
Dr. William Green, President, RightMarch.com
Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Tea Party Nation
Susan A. Carleson, Chairman and CEO, The American Civil Rights Union
 

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