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Joe Manchin — save the U.S. from falling behind (again) on tax policy
The global community is currently undertaking a project to rewrite the tax playbook and if the U.S. Congress doesn’t get involved it could be another circumstance of U.S. jobs and government revenue being moved to foreign shores. Unfortunately, the two-party system in the U.S. makes is slow and difficult to pass major laws, tax laws even more so. If Congressional Democrats, especially Senator Manchin who holds the pivotal vote to move legislation forward in the U.S. Senate, don’t pass tax legislation now, it may never happen, and the drain of U.S. IP, manufacturing, and tax revenue will continue the all too familiar movement out of the United States. With Republicans showing an unwillingness to engage the OECD on tax proposals to create a level playing field for U.S. corporation, this year is likely the last best opportunity for the foreseeable future.
How we got here
Changes to U.S. tax law is notoriously slow, with big re-writes coming every half century or so. This slow ability to adapt opens up the U.S. to constant outmaneuvers by foreign countries and their tax authorities. Not being agile means that other countries are able to lure away investments, workers, intellectual property (IP), research and development (R&D), and headquarters. Following the 1986 tax reform, the U.S. tried to…
