FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, CONTACT: (202) 225-1721
June 15, 1999
FC-12
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on the impact of U.S. tax rules on the international competitiveness of U.S. workers and businesses. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, June 30, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Also, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The tax rules that apply to individuals and businesses with international operations are among the most complex in the Internal Revenue Code. These international tax rules often cause U.S. taxpayers to structure their domestic and international activities in particular ways. For instance, the current rules may effectively prevent a taxpayer from undertaking a particular activity in a specific location, business entity, or manner otherwise consistent with the taxpayer's business interests. Similarly, the current rules may create incentives to structure business activities in a particular location, entity, or manner. Some of the consequences of these U.S. international tax rules are intended; many, however, are either unintended or result from competing tax, economic, or social policies in the international tax rules.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "I have long been interested in reform of our international tax rules. I strongly believe that our tax rules must help, rather than hinder, the competitiveness of American workers and businesses. People in too many businesses, large and small, have described to me how our tax law has affected their decisions regarding place of incorporation, choice of business entity, and location of business assets and operations. Having the tax system-rather than business, economic, or family considerations-drive these decisions is troubling.
I am truly concerned by what I see happening to our economy. Are the current rules arbitrary or unfair? Is the U.S. tax system contributing to the de-Americanization of U.S. industry? Do our tax laws force U.S. companies to be domiciled in foreign countries? Are we making it a foregone conclusion that mergers of U.S. companies with foreign companies will always leave the resulting new company headquartered overseas? I want the Committee to examine (1) the effect that our current international tax rules have on U.S. workers and businesses, and (2) the policies (tax or otherwise) our international tax rules ought to reflect and implement."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on the impact of current U.S. tax rules on international competitiveness including that on cross-border transactions, international operations of U.S.-based companies, and the treatment of U.S. citizens working in foreign countries. The hearing will examine some of the problems caused by the current rules and proposed solutions to these problems.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Tuesday, June 22, 1999. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Committee will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Committee staff at (202) 225-1721.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Committee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Committee are required to submit 300 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, no later than, Monday, June 28, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, July 7, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.