July 14, 2015
Dear Senators and Representatives:
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is rapidly working to rewrite global tax rules in the name of combating base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). We the undersigned organizations are deeply concerned that this process lacks oversight and will result in onerous new reporting requirements and higher taxes on American businesses, and are urging Congress to speak up for U.S. interests by adding its voice to the process.
The OECD has a history of supporting higher tax burdens and larger government, and the BEPS project represents just the latest salvo in a long-running campaign by global bureaucrats to undermine tax competition and its restraining force on political greed.
Because the OECD is populated by tax collectors and finance ministers, new rules being drafted through the BEPS initiative are necessarily going to be skewed in their favor. Businesses are given only a token voice, while other interests are not considered at all. Consumers, employees, and everyone that benefits from global economic growth are not able to make their preferences known.
The inevitable prioritizing of tax collection over every other political or economic interest ensures that the result of the BEPS project will be economic pain. And based on the OECD's own acknowledgement that corporate tax revenues have not declined in recent years, that pain will provide little to no real gain to national treasuries.
BEPS recommendations already released further show a troubling trend toward excessive and unnecessary demands on taxpayers to supply data not typically relevant to the collection of taxes. This includes proprietary information that is not the business of any government, and for which adequate privacy safeguards are not and likely cannot be provided.
The Treasury Department should not be the only voice representing U.S. interests during this critical process. We urge members of Congress to get involved before it is too late, and to protect American interests by ensuring that the voices of tax collectors are not allowed to speak for everyone.
Sincerely,
Andrew F. Quinlan -President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Grover Norquist - President, Americans for Tax Reform
Pete Sepp - President, National Taxpayers Union
Tom Schatz - President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Seton Motley - President, Less Government
Wayne Brough - Chief Economist and Vice President of Research, FreedomWorks
J. Bradley Jansen - Director, Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights
Phil Kerpen - President, American Commitment
David Williams - President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Bob Bauman - Chairman, Sovereign Society Freedom Alliance
Karen Kerrigan - President, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Sabrina Schaeffer - Executive Director, Independent Women’s Forum
James L. Martin - Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Heather Higgins - President, Independent Women’s Voice
George Landrith - President, Frontiers of Freedom
Lew Uhler - President, National Tax Limitation Committee
Terrence Scanlon - President, Capital Research Center
Tom Giovanetti - President, Institute for Policy Innovation
Andrew Langer - President, Institute for Liberty
Eli Lehrer - President, R Street Institute
Chuck Muth - President, Citizen Outreach