February, 27 2018, 01:45pm EDT
New Bill Removes Tax Incentives to Move Jobs, Profits Offshore
“No Tax Breaks For Outsourcing Act” would close loopholes in tax code that encourage offshore tax avoidance.
WASHINGTON
New legislation introduced Tuesday would equalize the tax rates for domestic businesses and multinational corporations -- reducing the tax incentives to shift jobs and profits overseas that were enacted under the recent tax overhaul, according to the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.
Sponsored by House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Senate Finance Committee Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the 'No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act' would equalize the tax rates for profits booked at home and abroad, repeal the tax deduction on profits earned from investments overseas, eliminate the tax break for foreign oil and gas extraction income, and institute a number of provisions aimed at combatting corporate inversions.
Clark Gascoigne, the deputy director of the FACT Coalition, issued the following statement:
"This bill ends the backward incentives created by the new tax law to move jobs, profits, and operations overseas.
"The simple fix -- to even up the rates -- levels the playing field for domestic companies and reverses some of the worst damage caused by the new law.
"It wasn't that long ago that there was justifiable outrage over tax rules that allowed billionaire Warren Buffett to pay a lower tax rate than his secretary. We should be equally concerned that the new law means the richest multinationals will pay lower rates than their smaller, wholly domestic counterparts. The new system is backwards.
"Under the old rules, companies paid the same U.S. tax rate whether they booked their profits in Indiana or Ireland. Now, multinationals pay a 21% rate on the profits they book in the U.S. but a 10.5% rate on the profits they book overseas. The real kick in the gut for workers is that companies can get even that discounted overseas rate down to 0% if they move enough production and jobs offshore.
"The 'No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act' is an important response to the tax law's misguided incentives for companies to move jobs, profits, and operation overseas."
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition is a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 state, national, and international organizations working toward a fair tax system that addresses the challenges of a global economy and promoting policies to combat the harmful impacts of corrupt financial practices.
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'Nobody Is Above the Law': ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants for Israel, Hamas Leaders
Karim Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, accuses Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of numerous crimes including "starvation as a method of war" and "deliberately targeting civilians."
May 20, 2024
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday announced he has "formally applied" for arrest warrants for the top political and military leaders of Hamas as well as the Israeli government on "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" charges related to the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants and the brutal assault on the people of Gaza that Israel unleashed in response.
In a world exclusive carried by CNN, the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan told correspondent Christiana Amanpour that arrest warrants are being sought for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their role "in the crimes of causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, [and] deliberately targeting civilians in conflict."
"Nobody is above the law," said Khan.
Khan and his team also announced the charges formally in a statement as well as a video address.
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC:
Based on the evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin NETANYAHU, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal… pic.twitter.com/0FpcRtv8ED
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 20, 2024
"Israel, like all States, has a right to take action to defend its population," said Khan in his statement. "That right, however, does not absolve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. Notwithstanding any military goals they may have, the means Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza—namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population—are criminal."
In Khan's application, the official "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" alleged—based on "evidence collected and examined" by his office—include:
- Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
- Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
- Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;
- Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);
- Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).
"There's no spinning this one: Israel's President and Minister of Defense are formally accused at the ICC of 'exterminating' Palestinians in the course of a starvation campaign," said Alonso Gurmendi, a lecturer on international relations at Kings College, London, in response to the announcement.
Beatrice Fihn, former head of the Nobel Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolition Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and an expert on international law, called the development "absolutely massive."
"The Prime Minister of Israel is a war criminal," Fihn said on social media, "and the impact of this will be very significant for all western countries that sell weapons to Israel."
In addition to the Israeli officials, Khan also announced arrest warrant applications for three Palestinian leaders: Yahya Sinwar, head of the Islamic Resistance Movement ("Hamas") in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known Deif), Commander-in-Chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military arm), and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' Political Bureau based in Doha, Qatar.
Also based on "evidence collected," Khan's specific charges against the Hamas officials include:
- Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;
- Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);
- Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(g), and also as war crimes pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;
- Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f), and also as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity;
- Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(l)(k), in the context of captivity;
- Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity; and
- Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity.
Khan alleged in his statement that Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh are each "criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas (in particular its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades) and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages."
Watch Amanpour's interview with Khan:
World exclusive: In major breaking news, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC tells me @IntlCrimCourt is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others on charges of war crimes and crimes against… pic.twitter.com/WOeWeGmy0o
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) May 20, 2024
Khan emphasized that the charges against both Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the case were based on documented evidence and that the charges simply follow on the mandates set by international law and legal standards that must be administered equally, regardless of the identity of the alleged perpetrator.
"Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse," Khan said. "In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that hold us together, the stabilizing connections between all communities and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of suffering. This is the true risk we face in this moment."
"Now, more than ever," he continued, "we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across the situations addressed by my Office and the Court. This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human beings have equal value."
The application for the warrants by Khan does not mean they have been issued, a determination that will be made by the panel of ICC judges who oversee such decisions for the court.
Heidi Matthews, assistant professor at Harvard Law School with a focus on the law of war, said Monday "will go down in the history of international law" because of what Khan and his team have done.
Citing the Rome Statute, Matthews explained that the Pre-Trial Chamber at the ICC "must now consider the prosecutor's evidence to assess whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have committed the alleged crimes."
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Morehouse Students Show Solidarity With Gaza During Biden Commencement Speech
"It is my stance as a Morehouse man, nay as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip," said valedictorian DeAngelo Fletcher.
May 19, 2024
Advisers for U.S. President Biden reportedly saw Morehouse College, a historically Black men's college in Atlanta where he gave the commencement address Sunday, as a school where the president was unlikely to face protests over his continued support for Israel's assault on Gaza, which has been the subject of mass demonstrations led by students at universities across the country over the past month.
But students and faculty made clear at the ceremony that many of them, like others in higher education, are intent on sending Biden a strong message of disapproval over his Israel policy.
A number of faculty members and students wore keffiyehs, the traditional scarves worn in parts of the Middle East including Palestine, and by some supporters of Palestinian rights to show solidarity with civilians in Gaza. Others displayed the Palestinian flag on their graduation gowns.
ABC News White House correspondent Selina Wang reported that while most of the alumni present at the graduation stood up when Biden was introduced, all but a few of the students remained seated.
The war in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians since October while receiving billions of dollars in military aid from the Biden administration, was directly mentioned by valedictorian DeAngelo Fletcher, who had placed a Palestinian flag motif on his graduation cap.
"It is my stance as a Morehouse man, nay, as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip," said Fletcher as Biden sat behind him and applauded. "From the comfort of our homes, we watch an unprecedented number of civilians mourn the loss of men, women, and children, while calling for the release of all hostages."
Some students and faculty turned their backs when the president gave his address, in which he said he supports "peaceful, non-violent protest." Other students walked out of the ceremony, but Biden's speech was not disrupted like the last time he addressed a group of college students at George Mason University, when protesters interrupted him 10 times.
Biden has been rebuked by First Amendment advocates for suggesting the Palestinian solidarity and anti-war protests that have spread across college campuses in recent weeks are inherently antisemitic, and for failing to speak out against aggressive police responses to protests at schools including Emory University, Columbia University, and University of Texas at Austin.
"It's a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That's why I've called for an immediate cease-fire, an immediate cease-fire to stop the fighting. Bring the hostages home," said the president, adding that he is "working around the clock" to secure a two-state solution in the Middle East and to ensure aid is allowed into Gaza, where key border crossings are now closed by Israel.
Middle Eastern policy expert Assal Rad said Biden's call for a cease-fire seven months into Israel's escalation amounts to "nonsense," considering his administration's veto of several cease-fire resolutions at the U.N. Security Council and the $17 billion military aid package Biden signed in April for Israel.
A majority of Americans disapprove of Israel's assault on Gaza, and Black voters, a key constituency who supported Biden in 2020, are no exception.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found last month that 68% of Black Americans wanted the U.S. to demand an immediate and permanent cease-fire, and 59% said conditions must be applied to U.S. military aid to Israel to ensure the Middle Eastern country is using U.S. weapons for "legitimate self-defense and in a way that is consistent with human rights standards."
While 66% of Black Americans overall said their feelings toward Biden had not changed due to his Israel policy, those under age 30 were more likely to say their views on the president had become more negative since October.
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Iranian President Missing After Helicopter Crash
President Ebrahim Raisi had been traveling in Iran's mountainous East Azerbaijan province.
May 19, 2024
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Update (3:30 pm ET):
Iranian state TV reported that Raisi's helicopter had been found. There was no update on the condition of those aboard.
Earlier:
Dozens of search teams were deployed to Iran's mountainous East Azerbaijan province on Sunday to search for a helicopter that had been carrying the country's president, Ebrahim Raisi, as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, after the aircraft reportedly experienced a "hard landing."
State news agency IRNA and Iran's mission to the United Nations reported that inclement weather, including rain and fog, had prevented the teams from finding the crash site after almost five hours of searching.
The helicopter had also been carrying East Azerbaijan province Gov. Malek Rahmati and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, representative of the Iranian supreme leader to East Azerbaijan. Raisi had been in the province on an official visit to inaugurate a dam on the Iran-Azerbaijan border.
The term "crash" was used by one government official speaking to an Iranian newspaper, but details of the severity of the hard landing are not yet known.
The incident comes just over a month after Iran launched a drone-and-missile attack against Israel in retaliation for Israel's deadly bombing of the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Raisi, who was elected in 2021, has been sanctioned by the U.S. for his role in executing thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the Iran-Iraq War.
In the event of the president's death, power would be transferred to the first vice president, the conservative Mohammad Mokhber. An election would then be called within six months.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said "chaotic times in Iran" may be ahead if elections are called.
"And that's not even taking into account if credible evidence emerges that there was foul play involved in the crash," said Parsi.
"The population has by and large lost faith in the idea that change can come through the ballot box," said Parsi. "Real alternatives to Iran's hardliners have simply not been allowed to stand for office in the in the last few elections. At the same time, those alternatives have in the eyes of the majority of the population lost credibility anyways, due to the failure to deliver change."
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