[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PRIVATE SECTOR GROWTH SUFFOCATED BY HIGH TAXES

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. VIRGINIA FOXX

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 9, 2012

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I highlight an example of how private sector 
businesses grow and contribute to our society when they're not 
suffocated by unnecessarily high taxes, and to dispel a myth that our 
colleagues continue to perpetuate about energy taxes. On April 24, The 
Wall Street Journal ran an article calling Apple Inc. ``the most 
valuable company'' in the world.
  Am I happy about that? Am I happy about Apple's success? You bet I 
am, and so are most people in the United States.
  Later that week, on April 28, The New York Times wrote a similar 
article that reported on Apple's creative, but legal, tax strategy that 
saves them billions in tax payments each year. The Times article 
reported ``the company paid cash taxes of $3.3 billion around the world 
on its reported profits of $34.2 billion last year, a tax rate of 9.8 
percent.'' Comparatively, Wal-Mart paid a tax rate of 24 percent.
  When Apple was asked for comments on their exceptionally low tax 
rate, they responded: ``By focusing on innovation, we've created 
entirely new products and industries, and more than 500,000 jobs for 
U.S. workers--from the people who create components for our products to 
the people who deliver them to our customers.''
  They also mentioned: ``In the first half of fiscal year 2012, our 
U.S. operations have generated almost $5 billion.''
  Mr. Speaker, Apple's experiences are instructive to us.
  First, the Federal Tax Code is too complicated. It allows only the 
largest companies who can afford to hire tax code interpreters to 
benefit from lower taxes. We should simplify the tax code by closing 
the loopholes and lower rates across the board to boost American 
competitiveness for all companies, large and small.
  Both history and Apple's experience underscore how increasing taxes 
without accompanying comprehensive reform has never and will never 
represent a sustainable, long-term strategy to any budgetary problems. 
On the contrary, cutting taxes does create economic growth, which fuels 
Federal revenue windfalls for reducing the deficit.
  These lessons should be applied to the entire tax code. Instead of 
increasing taxes on American energy producers, we should focus on 
simplifying the federal code to encourage the development of domestic 
energy resources which, in turn, bolsters employment opportunities here 
at home.
  Again, am I pleased about Apple's success? Absolutely.
  But we never hear from our Democrat friends about the low tax rates 
paid by companies like Apple. However, they attack domestic energy 
producers and ignore the simple truth that it is the American people 
who actually own these companies and benefit from the respective 
profits that they make. According to the American Petroleum Institute, 
mutual funds hold almost 30 percent of oil stocks; pension funds hold 
27 percent; individual investors hold 23 percent; 14 percent is held in 
individual retirement accounts; other institutional investments hold 5 
percent; and corporate management holds just 1.5 percent.
  Despite what liberal Democrats would have you believe, increasing 
domestic energy production not only helps lower prices and produce 
jobs; it also helps boost stocks, mutual funds, IRAs, and pension funds 
owned by millions of Americans.
  It is also worth recognizing how hypocritical it is for liberal 
Democrats to complain about the federal tax treatment of domestic 
energy production while ignoring the market distorting impact of their 
favored subsidization of failed wind, solar and ``green car'' projects. 
The simple truth is that American energy producers, such as those in 
the oil development business, receive the same tax treatment as other 
U.S. industries. For those truly interested in ``fairness,'' the 
difference between ``subsidies'' and ``deductions'' should not be 
ignored or distorted.
  It's time that we as government officials get out of the way. Instead 
of increasing the bureaucracy and red tape, we need to focus on 
creating an environment for American private sector businesses to 
compete more easily in the global marketplace and give back to local 
communities in the form of jobs rather than sending more money to the 
Federal Government.

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