Incentives: It's what makes things happen

Corporations would like to bring a trillion dollars home and give it to Americans....but they won't pay 350bb in corporate taxes to do so, so they're asking for a tax holiday - pay 50 to the Treasury and give the nation a shot in the arm.  Odds of the Obami doing something rational?  Nil.  Hat tip PJ Tatler

Apple has joined a consortium of companies including Cisco, Duke Energy, Oracle, and Pfizer to lobby the US government for a tax holiday that would allow corporations to bring home an estimated $1 trillion now parked in overseas accounts.

Without the tax holiday, the companies say they won’t spend their overseas earnings in the US, given that they face a 35% tax on their profits generated outside the country. Their plan asks for a temporary break that would enable them repatriate their foreign cash by paying only 5% in taxes, during a one year period.

Can you imagine this President giving up $300 billion in taxes from evil greedy corporation? Me, neither — which is why he probably won’t collect any of it. Those trillion dollars will stay parked overseas.