美科技巨头积极支持资金回国，利还是弊？

美国企业大约把超过1兆美元的现金放在美国以外的国家，这些资金本可用在美国本土创造就业机会，然而由于美国当地的赋税制度，这些企业缺乏这样做的积极性。目前，一个新成立的组织WinAmerica，已开始就这个问题督促美国国会。

该组织的主要目标是游说国会赋予在国外运营的美国企业临时赋税减免，以便让这些企业汇回存在国外帐户的资金。而企业将资金放在海外的最主要原因，是大多数其他国家的税率都比美国平均35%的企业税率低得多。

该组织的18家支持企业中有超过2/3是科技公司，涉及领域包括软件开发、电子硬件设计和销售。包括Adobe Systems Inc.,苹果(Apple Inc.),博通(Broadcom Corp.),CA Technologies,思科(Cisco Systems Inc.),EMC Corp.,Google,微软(Microsoft Corp.),甲骨文(Oracle Corp.)和高通(Qualcomm Inc.)。事实上，要说支持这一举措的美国科技公司都在海外存有巨款也不为过，当然，美国商务部也包含在内。

WinAmerica网站的部份声明包括：

·我们坚决支持企业赋税改革，但现在我们要做的，应该是让企业把钱汇回国内，投注在依然脆弱的经济之中。我们现在有机会将1兆美元资金投入到美国本土来强化经济、减少赤字以及提高人民就业机会。

·我们不完整的赋税制度事实上对海外运作良好的美国公司不利，当这些公司想将营收汇回美国本土进行投资时。

·为美国企业提供优惠方案，让他们把全球各地的营收汇回美国本土，将可为美国经济提供1兆美元的资金投注。

·这笔钱有助于美国经济复苏、创造就业机会、降低赤字，而且不花纳税人的钱。

事实上，2004年，美国国会曾制定海外盈利回流税收减免规定，这与当今许多企业的诉求非常类似。尽管WinAmerica认为此一行动将可创造美国的就业机会，然而，考虑到企业在雇用员工前通常会做出的诸多其他考量，此一说法并不能完全令人信服。2004年的减免税收措施或许有些帮助，但我并不认为它在这段时间内对美国就业率做出了贡献。

不过，这并不意味着美国国会不应该再次实施同样的措施，然而，任何以为这样做便能将当前美国接近9%失业率往下砍几个百分点的人都无异是在自欺欺人。以苹果为例，难道该公司会只因为能将数十亿美元的海外资金带回美国，就收回与台湾制造伙伴的合约吗？这些公司是否因为缺乏资金而拒绝雇用美国员工呢？我对此非常怀疑。

我在这个问题上没有任何预设立场，因为我并没有深入了解此一行动是否会直接对企业雇用员工带来刺激。此外，我曾经说过，而且再次重申：对一些主动支持WinAmerica且目前不分红的企业来说，若国会核准其要求，那么，他们都应该开始分红了。微软已经在2004年这样做了，该公司大约付出了300亿美元给投资者。

点击参考原文：Apple, Cisco, Google, Seek Tax Relief to Repatriate Cash

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Apple, Cisco, Google, Seek Tax Relief to Repatriate Cash

Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief

US companies have more than $1 trillion in cash outside the country, funds they could use to create jobs at home -- but they lack the incentive to do so because of the taxman, according to a new organization set up to prod Congress on the issue.

WinAmerica formally opened up shop today with the goal of lobbying the Congress to grant American companies operating outside the country a temporary tax holiday to repatriate funds kept in foreign accounts where the tax rates are much lower than the average 35 percent corporate rate in the United States.

More than two-thirds of the organization's 18 supporters are technology companies involved either in software development or electronics hardware design and sales. They include Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ADBE), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM), CA Technologies (Nasdaq: CA), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL), and Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM). In fact, it wouldn't be stretching the truth to say the supporters of this initiative are mainly American technology companies with huge cash hoards outside the country. Naturally, the US Chamber of Commerce is also onboard.

Here are some elements of their argument as stated on the WinAmerica Website (you can read the entire report here):

We strongly support the need for corporate tax reform, but we should move now to allow businesses the power to bring this money home and invest it into our still fragile economy. We have an opportunity right now to strengthen our economy, reduce our deficit, put people back to work, and invest up to $1 trillion in America.

Our broken tax system actually penalizes American companies for doing well overseas in the global marketplace when they want to bring those earnings back to America to invest here.

Providing American businesses with incentives to bring home their global earnings is a common sense solution that could help inject up to $1 trillion into our economy.

There are few other options available that will help ensure that our recovery endures and that it spreads to Main Street. The likelihood of another stimulus, additional tax cuts, or action by the Federal Reserve is low, and unemployment is still too high.

This money will help strengthen our economic recovery, create jobs, and help reduce the deficit -- at no cost to taxpayers.

We have been here before. In 2004, Congress granted a tax holiday similar to the one companies are now seeking, and many took the opportunity to remit funds kept overseas. While WinAmerica argues that this action resulted in the creation of jobs in the United States, it's not such a convincing argument, considering numerous other factors are typically considered by companies before hiring. The 2004 tax holiday might have helped, but I don't agree it made a dent on the US employment rate at the time.

That doesn't mean Congress shouldn't do the same again this time, but anyone who thinks this would lop several percentage points off the current almost 9 percent unemployment rate is deluded. Will Apple, for instance, pull back manufacturing contracts from its Taiwanese partners because it can now bring back the billions it has in cash overseas? Are any of these companies refusing to hire now in the US because they lack the funds to do so? I doubt this.

I don't have a position on this issue because I lack the necessary insight into how such an action would directly spur companies to hire. So, I'll leave the core issues to labor lawyers and Congressional representatives. I've said this before, and I'll repeat it here: Some of the companies supporting the WinAmerica initiative who don't currently pay dividends should do so if Congress sanctions their request. Microsoft did in 2004, paying out a hefty $30 billion to investors.