The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
United States Senate
Capitol Building S-221
Washington, DC 20510-7020
Fax: (202) 224-7362
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Leader
United States Senate
Capitol Building S-230
Washington, DC 20510-7010
Fax: (202) 224-2574
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
Capitol Building H-232
Washington, DC 20515-6501
Fax: (202) 225-4188
The Honorable John A. Boehner
House Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Capitol Building H-204
Washington, DC 20515-6537
Fax: (202) 225-5117
Dear Congressional Leadership:
The 200 undersigned companies and trade associations write today to express our strong opposition to provisions in the Administration's budget to increase taxes on U.S. companies that are competing for business in international markets. Together, we provide millions of high-paying American jobs that depend on our ability to compete in the global economy.
Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States. American companies seeking to serve these consumers rely on growth in these markets to restart economic growth and create jobs for Americans. In fact, 22 million Americans work for U.S. multinationals while millions of other Americans are employed by the thousands of small and medium-sized companies that supply and service U.S. multinationals.
American companies require only a level playing field in international tax policy. Unfortunately, the Administration's proposal to repeal “deferral” would impose a unilateral tax on the foreign earnings of American companies, upsetting the competitive balance between U.S. and foreign companies. This will result in a loss of jobs for Americans and serious negative impacts on the U.S. economy.
We strongly urge Congress to reject this budget proposal that would impair the global competitiveness of U.S. companies and harm American workers and the U.S. economy.
Sincerely,
Abbott
Adobe Systems
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Alcoa Allergan, Inc.
Altera Corporation Alticor Inc.
Aluminum Association
American Apparel & Footwear Association
American Axle & Manufacturing
American Chemistry Council
American Express Company
Amphenol Corporation
Apache Corporation
Applied Materials, Inc.
Arizona Manufacturers Council
Atheros Communications, Inc.
Avery Dennison
Ball Corporation
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Bayer Corporation
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
BMC Software
Book Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc.
Boston Scientific Corporation
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Buckeye Technologies, Inc.
Business Roundtable
Business Software Alliance
CA, Inc.
CAP Worldwide
Cargill
Case New Holland Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Celgene Corporation
CIGNA Corporation
Cisco Systems
CNL Financial Group, Inc.
Colorado Business Roundtable
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Con-way Inc.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
ConocoPhillips Company
Cree Inc.
Deere & Company
Dell Inc.
Diebold Incorporated
Dow Corning Corporation
Duke Energy Corporation
DuPont
Eastman Chemical Company
Eaton Corporation
eBay Inc.
ECOLAB
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
Eli Lilly and Company
Eliokem, Inc.
EMC Corporation
Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT)
Emerson
Financial Executives International’s Committee on Taxation
Flowserve Corporation
Fluor
FMC Corporation
FMC Technologies Inc.
Fortune Brands, Inc.
Gates Corporation
General Electric
General Mills
Goodrich Corporation
Graco Inc.
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Guardian Industries Corp.
Harsco Corporation
Hewlett-Packard Company
Honeywell
Hospira, Inc.
Hutchinson Technology Inc.
i2 Technologies, Inc.
IDEX Corporation
Illinois Technology Association (ITA)
ImClone Systems Corporation
INDA – Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
Indiana Manufacturers Association
Informatica Corporation
Information Technology Industry Council
Intel Corporation
International Business Machines Corporation
International Paper Co.
Intersil Corporation
ITT
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson Outdoors, Inc
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Kodak
Kohler Co.
Kraft Foods
Lexmark International, Inc.
Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc.
Lord Corporation
Louisiana Technology Council
LSI Corporation
Macrovision Solutions Corporation
Mars, Incorporated
MASCO Corporation
McCormick and Company, Inc.
McDermott International, Inc.
McDonald’s Corporation
McKesson Corporation
Mead Johnson Nutrition Company
MeadWestvaco Corporation
Medical Device Manufacturers Association
Merck & Co., Inc.
Metal Powder Industries Federation
Microsoft Corporation
Millipore Corporation
Mississippi Manufacturers Association
Motorola, Inc.
NACCO Industries, Inc.
NASDAQ OMX
National Association of Manufacturers
National Foreign Trade Council
National Gypsum Company
National Mining Association
Navistar International Corporation
New York Life Insurance Company
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Partnership for New York City
Peabody Energy
Pentair, Inc.
PepsiAmericas, Inc.
Pepsi Co, Inc.
Pfizer Inc.
Philip Morris International Inc.
Plexus PPG Industries
Praxair, Inc.
Procter & Gamble
Prudential
Quest Software, Inc.
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Collins
Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Inc.
S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Sabre Holdings Corporation
Sara Lee Corporation
SAS
Schering-Plough Corporation
Schneider Electric North America
Schwan Food Co.
Semi Conductor Industry Association
Sensient Technologies Corporation
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Software Finance and Tax Executives Council
SpiritAero
Square D Company
St. Jude Medical
Symantec Corporation
TechAmerica, formed by the merger of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and AeA
TechNet
Technitrol, Inc.
Technology CEO Council
Terex Corporation
Texas Instruments
Textile Care and Allied Trades Association
Textron Inc.
The Adhesive and Sealant Council, Inc.
The Association for Manufacturing
Technology
The Brink’s Company
The Carpet and Rug Institute
The Coca-Cola Company
The Dow Chemical Company
The Manitowoc Company, Inc.
The Marmon Group LLC
The McGraw-Hill Companies
The Pepsi Bottling Group
The Soap and Detergent Association
The Stanley Works
The Tax Council
The Timken Company
The West Virginia Roundtable, Inc.
Tomkins Corporation
Travel Goods Association
Tupperware Brands Corporation
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
United States Council for International Business
United States Steel Corporation
United Technologies Corporation
Utah Manufacturers Association
Utah Technology Council
VF Corporation
WESCO Distribution Inc.
Whirlpool Corporation
Wyeth
Xerox Corporation
YUM! Brands
Zimmer, Inc.
cc: United States House of Representatives United States Senate