10.14.16

Durbin Commends Treasury Actions To Limit Corporate Inversions And Earnings Stripping

CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued final regulations to limit corporate tax inversions and curb earnings stripping, a tactic that has allowed American companies to avoid U.S. taxes by shifting their profits overseas.  
  
“When corporations avoid paying their fair share of taxes, it hurts all Americans. It keeps us from making critical investments in our nation’s infrastructure, schools, and military,” said Senator Durbin. “I commend Secretary Lew and the Treasury for taking steps, in the absence of Congressional action, to prevent the further erosion of our tax base. Treasury has rightly used its authority to restore tax fairness, but our work is not done  It’s now up to Congress to permanently close these tax loopholes and make sure families and small businesses aren’t footing the bill for these unfair practices.”
  
In February, Durbin led a group of lawmakers calling on the Treasury Department to expedite rules to limit the use of earnings stripping and other tax avoidance schemes that are often used by foreign-controlled U.S. corporations following an inversion. Durbin is the lead sponsor of the Stop Corporate Inversions Act and an original cosponsor of legislation to curb earnings stripping and ban federal contracts for companies that move their headquarters overseas to avoid paying their fair share of U.S. taxes.