Anti-outsourcing bill blocked by Senate Republicans
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 29 September 2010, 15:01 IST   |    2 Comments
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Anti-outsourcing bill blocked by Senate Republicans
Washington: A Democratic bill on ending the tax deductions enjoyed by companies that close their U.S. plants and move overseas has been blocked by Senate Republicans. Democrats, who got only 45 votes, couldn't get the 60 votes needed to clear Republican procedural hurdle, reports Kim Dixon of Reuters. While most Democrats backed ending tax preferences, many of them opposed the bill also, including Max Baucus, Chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee. Indian IT honchos had said the bill won't make much of an impact on India. However, they warned that US companies operating in other countries may be beaten by the same stick. According to Democratic backers, who vow to make the vote a campaign issue in the November 2 congressional election, claimed that Republicans have undermined their efforts to create jobs. On the other hand, Republicans and business groups dismissed the bill as a political stunt that would increase taxes on companies and undermine job growth. Nearly 15 million Americans are out of work and unemployment has been stuck near 10 percent for more than a year, according to sources. "The companies this bill targets, by and large, aren't opening overseas subsidiaries to make products for Americans," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said. The bill also takes on a hot tax topic known as "deferral," the ability of companies to defer taxes on income earned abroad. The bill would repeal deferral for companies that close or cut a business in the U.S. and expand overseas with the intention of importing goods for sale in the U.S.

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