Summers, Patriotism, and Business Taxes

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/10/summers-patriotism-and-business-taxes

The Wall Street Journal has a detailed account of efforts by American businesses to fend off the Obama administration's proposal to increase taxes on overseas operations. FutureOfCapitalism.com had highlighted the issue earlier here and here. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the Journal article was its recounting of a meeting between a group of Silicon Valley executives and the chief of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Summers:

Mr. Summers acknowledged that the government was desperate for new sources of revenue. .. Somehow, he said, the corporate sector had to help trim the rising deficit. "I need you to be patriots," he told the group, say several participants.

The equation of patriotism with support for higher taxes on American business is a leap that a lot of American business executives and voters are probably not ready to make. But it is a good window into the thinking of the administration.

by Editor  |  Oct 13, 2009 at 8:52 am Related Topics:  Lawrence Summers, Taxes receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list