Senators consider closing tax inversion loophole

Senators consider closing tax inversion loophole

Two senior U.S. senators are now working on legislation that might help to combat the recent tide of corporate emigration to places like Ireland, Holland and other foreign countries, according to The Wall Street Journal. Chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, noted that he views this trend as a symptom of the broken tax code and is currently “looking at the issue,” said a spokeswoman May 8. She added that the senator would soon have details.

Meanwhile, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, also said that he would soon introduce legislation to tighten restrictions on companies attempting a corporate inversion, the news source reported. Levin is known to be hard on corporate tax evasion, and has already introduced similar legislation that stipulates that publicly traded companies with assets of $50 million or more that are managed and controlled in the U.S. be treated as U.S. companies for tax purposes.

“I’ve long been concerned about inversions – companies moving offshore on paper, for tax purposes, while the management and operations remain in the United States,” the senator said in a statement. “It’s become increasingly clear that a loophole in our tax laws allowing these inversions threatens to devastate federal tax receipts. We have to close that loophole. I am talking to my colleagues about legislation to close the loophole, which I intend to introduce soon. Companies that exploit this loophole benefit from the protections and services the federal government provides, including patent protection, research and development tax credits, national security and more; they shouldn’t be allowed to shift their tax burden onto others.”

Considering the disagreement between Republicans and Democrats on how the U.S. tax code should be altered, it is unlikely that either bill will make any headway in the near future, the Journal reported.