Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006

TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 30, 2005)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

You know, of all the many, many injustices for which this House Republican leadership is responsible, surely there are few that are less defensible than their defense of corporations that flee America. And how appropriate that we bring to the House this amendment at this time as we approach our Nation's Independence Day on July the 4th, because a few corporations have declared their independence from America when it comes to paying their taxes. They formally fled our shores. They dodge their taxes by reincorporating in some tax haven, buying a mailbox and having a beach-side board meeting.

To add insult to injury, the same corporations that renounce America stretch their hand out to all of us who are paying our fair share, businesses and individuals, and say "can we have some of your tax money?" They ask to be given the opportunity to bid on government contracts that they are not contributing to pay for. That is right. An outrage that exists that has been defended by this Republican leadership. Why do we do this in an appropriations bill? Because the House Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, has, under the Republican leadership, as its primary responsibility to protect corporations just like those that flee and then ask to do government business.

What about this argument that these corporations are paying taxes on their government business? Well, frankly, it is a half truth. Let me tell you, these corporations do not go to Bermuda for the shorts. They do not go there for the suntan. They go there to dodge taxes. And the way they do that, as in the case of Accenture, one company that has been mentioned, is to strip away earnings and have them taxed there-at non tax rates really-in Bermuda. For example, the name Accenture did not exist a few years ago.

And so Accenture used its American presence to advertise and build up the value of the name. And so when they come to their name being owned by a foreign corporation, when they come to calculate any taxes they owe in the United States, they deduct all the royalties that they pay to that foreign corporation. So they may be paying a certain tax rate on their income, but they do not include all their income because they have stripped it and sent it abroad.

What of the argument that we will lose the opportunity for the best contract? We are not saying that Accenture or any other company cannot contract for business. Just pay your fair share of taxes like every other American is all that we say through this amendment.

And what makes the opposition to this amendment particularly shameful at this time is that wealthy tax-dodging corporations are not sacrificing at all, while we call on some young Americans to give their all and sacrifice for America. Middle-class Americans are paying hundreds of billions of dollars for this adventure abroad, while tax dodgers and tax cheats avoid paying their fair share. It is wrong. We ought to correct it with approval of this amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov

Source