As MSNBC's Ed Schultz and economist and writer David Cay Johnston discussed in the clip above, our tax system does need an overhaul, but not the kind that Republicans have been clamoring for.
And of course this is DOA in the House: Democrats Take Aim At Corporate Tax Dodges:
Taking aim against corporate tax avoidance, 14 Senate Democrats called on Tuesday for curbs on U.S. multinationals that shift their tax domiciles abroad in deals known as "inversions."
While still rare, the deals are becoming more common, with two recently attempted transactions by Pfizer Inc and Omnicom Group Inc drawing attention to the strategy.
Under legislation introduced by Senator Carl Levin and other Senate Democrats, a two-year moratorium would be imposed on inversions, with minimum foreign ownership levels also raised.
"Our legislation would clamp down on this loophole to prevent corporations from shifting their tax burden onto their competitors and average Americans," Levin said in a statement.
The bill, to be introduced also in the House of Representatives, was unlikely to become law any time soon, because Congress is deadlocked on fiscal issues, policy analysts said.
But it signaled renewed urgency about fixing the U.S. tax code, last overhauled in 1986 and riddled with loopholes.
"Our current tax code unnecessarily encourages companies to shift their tax address offshore, eroding the U.S. tax base and endangering American jobs," said Senate Democrat Ben Cardin.
No Republicans co-sponsored the Levin bill, but leading Republican tax law writers have said they want to combat inversions as part of a comprehensive tax code reform. Read on...
