Bipartisan Call For Passage Of "Freedom to Invest Act"

GOP and Democratic leaders joined together on Wednesday to urge Congressional action on the “Freedom to Invest Act.”

“The clock is ticking and pressure is building for these companies to deploy their profits overseas rather than pay the stiff penalty of bringing them back home,” Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told reporters.

The Freedom to Invest Act, which was introduced by Reps. Brady and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) back in May, aims to provide incentives for American businesses to bring home more than $1 trillion from global earnings to invest in the US economy.

“Giving the struggling of the economy, this is exactly the free market boost that the economy needs and frankly one of the strongest arrows in our quiver,” Brady commented.

“It’s the rifle shot that will bring a significant amount of capital back on shore,” Matheson added.

The bipartisan bill, which has 104 cosponsors to date, would allow US companies to repatriate global earnings for either the year the legislation is enacted or the year following enactment. To ensure job growth, companies that reduce their average employment over the two-year period following repatriation will be penalized.

According to a study quoted by Brady, the repatriation could increase the GDP by as much as four percent and increase jobs by as much as 2.9 million over the next few years.

While Brady and Matheson expressed that this bill would greatly improve the economy, they stressed that corporate tax reform is their ultimate goal.

“Our ultimate goal is to have a permanent competitive tax code in America that has permanent repatriation but this is a step forward,” Brady stated.

Opponents of the Freedom to Invest Act argue that the legislation will result in lost revenue and ultimately encourage more companies to do business offshore.