HM 717

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
3	urging Congress to cut the federal corporate tax rate.
4
5	WHEREAS, the combined United States average federal-state
6	corporate income tax rate is over 39 percent, according to the
7	Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD),
8	meaning the United States imposes the second-highest overall
9	statutory corporate tax rates in the industrialized world, much
10	higher than the OECD average of 25 percent, and
11	WHEREAS, effective United States corporate tax rates are
12	out of step with the rest of the world, with studies estimating
13	the United States tax is between 4 and 17 percentage points
14	higher than the averages of other countries, according to a Tax
15	Foundation survey, and
16	WHEREAS, the federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent
17	undermines the ability of every state in the nation to compete
18	against lower-tax nations such as Canada, China, Great Britain,
19	Ireland, Korea, and Singapore, and
20	WHEREAS, 75 nations have cut their corporate taxes since
21	2007, making it increasingly difficult for the United States to
22	attract new business investment and jobs, and
23	WHEREAS, corporate taxes have been identified by the OECD
24	as the most harmful tax for long-term economic growth by
25	reducing investment, entrepreneurship, productivity, and wages,
26	and
27	WHEREAS, according to the United States Census Bureau,
28	federal corporate income tax collections in 2008 amounted to
29	over $2,000 for every American household, a tax that is borne by
30	every American in the form of lower wages, higher prices, or
31	lower dividends, and
32	WHEREAS, while many federal officials have identified
33	corporate tax competitiveness as a serious problem, the Federal
34	Government, as of yet, has no official policy regarding United
35	States tax competitiveness, NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39	That the Florida Legislature urges the United States
40	Congress to cut the federal corporate tax rate.
41	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
42	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
43	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
44	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
45	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.