Rep. Scott seeks to dramatically lower U.S. corporate tax rate

Freshman Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has introduced legislation that would lower the corporate tax rate by more than a third and allow companies to temporarily deduct a significant amount of overseas earnings from U.S. taxes.

The goal of the legislation, H.R. 937, is to create an incentive for the creation of corporations in the U.S., and for companies to repatriate an estimated $1 trillion in overseas earnings.

"It's an easy decision — do we want our companies investing in other countries or in the U.S.?" asks a description of the bill released by Scott's office. "Do we want one trillion dollars to sit on the sidelines or do we want it in the economy game?"

The bill, called the Rising Tides Act, would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 23 and would let companies deduct up to 85 percent of overseas earnings when repatriating it to the United States. Scott's office said these changes are needed to bring the U.S. corporate tax rate in line with taxes in other industrialized countries, where it averages about 26 percent.

Scott also rejects the idea that lowering taxes on companies would reduce corporate revenues. "A low corporate tax rate will attract taxable assets and activities from outside the country's borders," the bill description said.