10/02/23

US: OECD Must Stop Colluding with Biden Administration to Surrender American Sovereignty, says House Ways and Means Committee Chairman.

As published on waysandmeans.house.gov, Friday 10 February, 2023.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) must stop colluding with the Biden Administration to enact a global tax deal that will surrender American sovereignty, destroy American jobs, and hand China a global economic competitive advantage, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) demanded in a letter today to OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

The Biden Administration is complicit in a direct attack on American workers and job creators – the Administration should be putting American workers first. As Smith writes:

“If finalized, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) global tax deal would result in fewer jobs and less prosperity for millions of American families. The technocrats negotiating this backroom deal in Paris have sought to attack the United States, and delegates from the Biden Administration have not stopped them.

“The House Republican Majority rejects those failures by Biden Administration negotiators. We will hold the Biden Administration accountable and restore Americans’ confidence in their government’s ability to protect American interests on the world stage.”

Biden’s global tax surrender will embolden and enrich the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of the American people. A component of the global tax regime under consideration by OECD is the adoption of an Under Taxed Profits Rule (UTPR) surtax that would harm American companies and deplete the benefits of American tax policies that encourage research and development. According to Smith’s letter:

“This UTPR surtax is fundamentally flawed—and it will never be effective against companies backed by the Chinese Communist Party. Instead, the UTPR surtax will target important U.S. tax incentives—including the research and development tax credit—as well as the operations of American companies in third-party jurisdictions…

“[T]he OECD global tax deal reflects a tenuous political negotiation that relies heavily on U.S. concessions and allows China to gain a competitive edge in the global economy.

“The United States provides 20 percent of the OECD’s annual budget—nearly $80 million per year and twice as much as any other country. China provides no funding to the OECD. Yet China stands to gain market share and jobs, while Americans are expected to pay the tab for the OECD global tax deal.”

The Bottom Line: Republicans will continue to fight to protect America’s interests and American sovereignty while holding the Biden Administration accountable for its ongoing efforts to sell out working families.