Over at my good friend Erudite Redneck's blog, I posted a comment on a thread concerning the decision by Halliburton to relocate its corporate headquarters from Houston, TX to the Port of Dubai. ER, as he is known to all who visit, is a bit, shall we say, upset over the idea of Halliburton, which derives the vast bulk of its revenue from government contracts with the US, moving offshore. Me, I have no problem with any business moving anywhere they want to - just another hole in the facade of sovereignty that should force the global community, at some point, to gather enough will to actually do something about predatory business practices that has teeth.
Anyway, in a spur of the moment thought, I offered the idea that, should any corporation seek to relocate outside the borders of the US, an expatriate exit tax should accrue. For publicly traded businesses, the amount would be, say 25% of the amortized value of of its common and preferred stock. For privately held companies, it would be 30% of the average gross revenues for the previous five years. Please note I say "gross receipts" not "revenue"; so, if a corporation only makes a 1% return, well, it's not personal, it's just business.
Another part of such expat legislation would be the rescinding of all contracts with the US government, pending review and re-approval by Congress. All expat corporations would now be treated like any other foreign own business, and be limited in the type of contracts it would apply for. Any security clearances granted to employees and managers would be rescinded, and approval would be limited to those personal who live and work in the US, with all the restrictions upon information transfer that already exist within legislation governing security issues.
You want to move overseas? Fine. The Unites States created you, through the action of a state legislature approving your articles of incorporation. We protected you from liability, offered you a place to grow your business, increase your profits and revenue in a well-ordered, low-regulation atmosphere. Should you decide to leave, you must consider the consequences of such an action as just another business expense.
Virtual Tin Cup
