Romney Campaign Press Release - Fact Checking Obama: More Dishonest Campaigning On Tax Policy

"President Obama is at it again today with another dishonest attack meant to distract from his own record of failure. After spending three years pushing policies that drive jobs overseas and sending taxpayer money to foreign-owned companies, it's clear President Obama doesn't have a clue when it comes to job creation in America. Our corporate tax rate is the highest in the industrial world and impairs the ability of American businesses to both compete globally and create jobs here at home. Mitt Romney has a comprehensive plan to reform the corporate tax code that will lower rates, get rid of incentives for firms to create jobs in other countries, and encourage the kind of economic growth President Obama has been unable to deliver." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Today, President Obama Plans To Launch Another False Attack On Governor Romney's Tax Plan:

President Obama Will Claim Governor Romney's Tax Plan Will Encourage Foreign Job Growth. "White House aides said Obama will cite news reports suggesting that Romney's plans for limited taxing of overseas profits by U.S. companies would encourage foreign job growth. The two candidates have repeatedly accused each other of outsourcing American jobs." (Charles Babington, "Obama To Tout Auto Bailout, Tax Policies In Ohio," The Associated Press, 7/16/12)

But President Obama's Attack Misrepresents Governor Romney's Plan To Implement Pro-Growth Tax Reforms:

The Report Cited By The Obama Campaign Erroneously Assumes Corporate Tax Rates Will Remain At Their Current Rates. "The analysis assumes that the U.S. effective tax rate is 27.1%, and it considers only the difference between tax responses under territorial and non-territorial systems. If the U.S. effective tax rate were to fall due to changes in the tax code, the calculated job responses would be lower." (Kimberly A. Clausing, "A Challenging Time For International Tax Policy," Tax Notes, 7/16/12)

• FACT CHECK: Governor Romney's Tax Plan Will Overhaul The Tax Code And Cut Corporate Rates To 25 Percent. "Republicans and Democrats agree that the tax code needs work. It has not been thoroughly overhauled in 25 years. ... Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has said he wants to cut the corporate rate to 25 percent." (Patrick Temple, "U.S. Corporate Tax Rate To Be Highest In The Developed World," Reuters, 3/30/12)

The Report Cited By The Obama Campaign Explicitly States That The Current System For International Taxation "Is Broken." "By any measure, the U.S. system of taxing multinational corporations is broken. Because corporations can postpone paying U.S. taxes on foreign profits indefinitely as long as they keep those profits abroad, the current system encourages firms to move factories and jobs to low-tax destinations and to keep their profits reinvested abroad." (Kimberly A. Clausing, "A Challenging Time For International Tax Policy," Tax Notes, 7/16/12)

President Obama's Own Jobs Council Proposed Moving To A Territorial Tax System "In Order To Make America More Competitive In Global Markets" Rather Than Taxing Foreign Profits. "Many Council members agree that the U.S. should shift to a territorial system of taxation in order to make America more competitive in global markets. While most other developed nations have adopted territorial systems that exempt most or all foreign income from taxes when they are repatriated, the U.S. subjects all worldwide earnings to the corporate income tax when they are brought home to the U.S. This approach actually encourages U.S. companies to keep their earnings abroad rather than investing them here at home. Adopting a territorial tax system would bring us in line with our trading partners and would eliminate the so-called 'lock-out' effect in the current worldwide system of taxation that discourages repatriation and investment of the foreign earnings of American companies in the U.S." ("Reform The Outdated Tax System To Enhance American Competitiveness," The Jobs Council, Accessed 2/22/12)

President Obama's Own Fiscal Commission Recommended A Territorial Tax System Where Most Or All Foreign Profits Are Not Taxed. "Move to a competitive territorial tax system. To bring the U.S. system more in line with our international trading partners', we recommend changing the way we tax foreign-source income by moving to a territorial system. Under such a system, income earned by foreign subsidiaries and branch operations (e.g., a foreign-owned company with a subsidiary operating in the United States) is exempt from their country's domestic corporate income tax. Therefore, under a territorial system, most or all of the foreign profits are not subject to domestic tax. The taxation of passive foreign-source income would not change." ("Moment Of Truth: The Report Of The National Commission On Fiscal Responsibility And Reform," The National Commission On Fiscal Responsibility And Reform, 12/1/10)

Instead Of Reforming Our Tax Code, President Obama Wants To Create A "Global Minimum Tax" That Will Harm America's Competitiveness:

Vice President Biden, In March 2012: "We Want To Create (What's Called) A Global Minimum Tax." "'For years, American manufacturers have faced one of the highest tax rates in the world. We want to reduce that by over 20%. We want to drop the rate, particularly, for high-tech manufacturers like you, Mr. President, even further than the 20%,' Vice President Joe Biden said at a manufacturing plant in Davenport, Iowa this week. 'We want to create (what's called) a global minimum tax, because American taxpayers shouldn't be providing a larger subsidy for investing abroad than investing at home,' Biden said at a campaign event." ("Biden: 'We Want To Create A Global Minimum Tax'," Real Clear Politics, 3/30/12)

Why Is President Obama Distorting The Facts? He Doesn't Want To Talk About His Own History Of Outsourcing Jobs And Taxpayer Money:

President Obama Has "Repeatedly Failed" To "Protect American Jobs From Being Moved Overseas." "While White House officials say they have been waiting on Congress to act, Obama's critics, primarily on the political left, say he has repeatedly failed in other ways to protect American jobs from being moved overseas." (Tom Hamburger, et al, "Obama's Record On Outsourcing Draws Criticism From The Left," The Washington Post, 7/9/12)

President Obama Has Failed To Label China A Currency Manipulator — A Policy That Would Help "Protect American Industries." "But Obama's critics say the most important step the president could take — but hasn't — is to declare China a 'currency manipulator,' which could ultimately allow the U.S. government to erect tariffs to protect American industries." (Tom Hamburger, et al, "Obama's Record On Outsourcing Draws Criticism From The Left," The Washington Post, 7/9/12)

• China's Currency Manipulation "Makes It More Attractive For Companies To Hire Workers" In China Instead Of The United States. "Many economists say that China manipulates foreign exchange markets to keep the value of its currency, the renminbi, lower than it would be if freely traded — a practice that makes it more attractive for companies to hire workers there rather than employ them in the United States. Romney says he would declare a China a currency manipulator on his first day in office." (Tom Hamburger, et al, "Obama's Record On Outsourcing Draws Criticism From The Left," The Washington Post, 7/9/12)

Obamacare's Medical Device Tax Could Force Businesses To Shift Tens Of Thousands Of Jobs Overseas. "The medical device industry says it could lose 10 percent of its U.S. workforce because of a tax created by healthcare reform. The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) released a report Wednesday that says device-makers might ship 43,000 jobs overseas once the tax takes effect in 2013." (Sam Baker, "Device-Makers Say Tax Will Cost 43,000 US Jobs," The Hill, 9/7/11)

President Obama Spent Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars "To Develop A Domestic Clean-Energy Industry," Which "Landed In The Hands Of Foreign Businesses." "According to some critics, a galling example of the Obama administration fostering overseas work came as part the 2009 stimulus program. They point to millions of dollars meant to develop a domestic clean-energy industry that instead landed in the hands of foreign businesses." (Tom Hamburger, et al, "Obama's Record On Outsourcing Draws Criticism From The Left," The Washington Post, 7/9/12)

"An April 2010 Study By The Energy Department Found That 60 Percent Of The 40 Largest Wind Farms Then Financed By The Stimulus Relied On Foreign Manufacturers For Their Central Components, Including Turbines." (Tom Hamburger, et al, "Obama's Record On Outsourcing Draws Criticism From The Left," The Washington Post, 7/9/12)

Foreign-Owned Companies Received $2.38 Billion In Stimulus Dollars For Energy Projects. "More than 1,100 projects have been funded under the Section 1603 program. Only about 75 are wind farms, but they have received $4.4 billion worth of grants. 54 percent of that -- $2.38 billion -- has gone to foreign developers. A total of 4,232 turbines were erected on those 75 farms, and 2,760 were built by foreign manufacturers - that's 65.2 percent." (Russ Choma, "Workshop's Wind Stories Kicking Up Political Dust," Investigative Reporting Workshop, 9/27/10)