CFP Welcomes Sweeney Tax Legislation

by Mike Godfrey, for LawAndTax-News.com, Washington

18 April 2003

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity (CFP) has pledged its support for a bill put forward by New York Congressman and House Appropriation Committee member, John Sweeney, which aims to discourage international institutions such as the United Nations and the OECD from pushing for tax harmonization at the expense of the US economy.

In a letter to his Congressional colleagues earlier this month, Rep. Sweeney cited several examples of policies likely to harm the interests of the United States, including the UN's advocacy of the creation of an international tax organization which would be able to exert influence on the country's tax regime.

'These policies are disturbing for many reasons,' he observed, explaining that: 'They are a threat to our financial markets, they would hurt our economy, they undermine our fiscal sovereignty and they would undermine pro-market tax reforms both in America and around the world.'

The letter continued:

'HR 1206 (Rep. Sweeney's bill) is very simple. It states that the US government will cease its subsidies for the UN and/or the OECD if either bureaucracy insists on pursuing policies that would undermine America's economy. In particular, the international bureaucracies would lose US funding if they advocated policies that would either impose global taxes on US taxpayers or help foreign governments tax income earned in the United States.'

Speaking last week, CFP President, Andrew Quinlan welcomed the proposed legislation, observing that:

'Rep. Sweeney's bill is a shot across the bow to multinational bureaucracies. They will suffer consequences if they take America's money and then use those funds to push policies that undermine our competitiveness and sovereignty. The Center for Freedom and Prosperity and the Coalition for Tax Competition strongly support HR 1206.'

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