During the last presidential campaign there was a fair bit of attention paid to offshore investments, and the multinational corporations that avoid taxes by hiding profits overseas. When corporations earn profits from offshore affiliates (many of whom do business exclusively in North America, but are located in tax havens like the Cayman Islands), those profits are not taxed until they are transferred into the hands of the American parent company. It's a shell game aimed at cheating the American people, it has to stop, and we need a revision of the tax code to do it.
But really, we need to go further than that. Huge corporations are the tip of the iceberg, as the Internet has made it possible for nearly every opportunistic shit-bag mercenary to screw over his neighbors and the country as a whole with just a few clicks.
We need to punch these fuckers right in the gonads. This is how we can do it.
The Economic Patriotism Act of 2013 will revise the deductibility of labor, raw materials and products purchased from overseas suppliers. It would revise it to zero.
Offshore your call center? Then you can't deduct that as a business expense. Does your business sell widgets that you buy overseas? Then the cost of those widgets is not included in your cost of goods sold. Do you import cheap parts to be assembled by American workers? Then you can deduct the labor cost, but not the cost of the parts.
The net effect of this would vary substantially. For the larger companies whose margins are generally huge on such transactions anyhow, they won't blink an eyelash. They'll pay the extra tax and continue to be the traitors that they are today.
For a good number of small- and medium-sized businesses, they'll mend their evil ways and start sourcing their goods domestically, and hiring workers in North America. That means increased employment, firing up the economy, and expanding the tax base.
And some businesses will close their doors. Why? Because it will no longer be profitable for them to continue to do business. This will cause all measure of wailing and whining on the part of the pro-business, anti-tax crowd. "You're hurting the small businessman!"
Well, let's look at that for a second. These are people who have built their entire business model around fucking over their countrymen. Their profit margins are so thin (or more likely, their greed is so pervasive) that they would rather fold up their tent than continue to do business in a respectful, patriotic manner. Instead of thinning their profits to help their neighbors, they'd rather just look for other ways to get rich.
Fuck EVERY GODDAMNED ONE of these mother fucking jag-offs. They can ALL go straight to hell, and I hope this law sends each and every one of them into crippling bankruptcy. If they don't like taxes that favor companies that help the economy, they can all suck my foot-long, hairy dick.
The vast majority of these so-called "small businesses" are really just shyster middle-man operations hiding behind an L.L.C. as a liability shield. It's one jerk-off in a Ralph Lauren golf shirt and penny loafers with no socks who hires off-shore software developers all the while calling himself a "consulting firm," or who imports something he could easily produce domestically in order to rip off his customers and pocket the difference. The more of those ass-licking dildos we drive out of business, the better.
Another nice thing about this law would be, as loathsome as the Tea Party is, they would be masturbating to heretofore unseen excesses of chafing over this law. Screw rich fat cats and make people buy American at the same time? They'll be pounding on the doors of their Congressmen's offices demanding they vote for this.
In fact, it would likely be beneficial to have the most bigoted, xenophobic piece of shit Tea Party member of the House introduce it. Then, not only would it pass (with help from Democrats, who should support it across the board), but it would cause the rift in the GOP to come to blows, maybe even in a physical sense. It's only a matter of time before one of those racist gerbil fuckers takes a swing at somebody in their own party: why not light a match to that powder keg? I'll make popcorn...
They say if you want to modify behavior, offer incentives --- but if those don't work, dish out punishments. Why do you think states tax the living hell out of cigarettes, booze and gambling? Well, this is just the kind of thing that Democrats can point to when the business community screams and cries about not being treated fairly. If they're not going to behave themselves, punish them for it. A disincentive for bad behavior becomes an incentive for good behavior, and this will achieve a number of worthy goals in the process.
This is something that should be built into President Obama's next budget proposal, and he shouldn't back down until he gets it.
