On Tuesday, Doggett said that he’s not wedded to any particular revenue raiser, including the one he sponsored in the House bill, but remained intent on making sure the spending increases in the farm bill were fully offset under pay-go budget rules.
He said that he would fully support a $10 billion revenue raiser in the Senate bill that would cut down on transactions solely designed to trim firms’ tax bills. Doggett said he had helped to craft the provision in the House some time ago and would be pleased to see it adopted in the final bill. However, the administration has said it would veto legislation with this language.
Critics of the Doggett provision argue that it would scare away overseas businesses from investing in the U.S. and cause retribution against U.S. firms with overseas operations. The National Association of Manufacturers lobbied against the provision, saying it would hurt their members.
“If the president wouldn’t sign an SCHIP extension with tobacco tax increases in it, he’s not going to like a tax increase on foreign companies creating jobs in the U.S.,” Conaway said, referring to last year’s debate on expanding the children’s health insurance law.
Doggett billed his provision as a legitimate way to pay for a $4 million expansion in federal nutrition programs, saying it targets foreign businesses setting up sham companies to take advantage of favorable tax treaties.
In a statement before the House vote on the farm legislation last summer, he said a vote against the provision would benefit “CEOs who hold beach-side board meetings at the expense of nutrition programs to feed the less fortunate here at home.”
On Tuesday, Doggett said that, based on an exchange that he had with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at a hearing last week about separate tax legislation, he believes the administration will frown on any tax change in the farm bill.
“I think it’s clear that the administration, as best as I can determine, is opposed to any revenue provision even if it is revenue-neutral,” he said.
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