Trump is going to force companies to bring that money back to the US: Gary Cohn
During President Trump’s speech at a rally in Harrisburg, Pa. he touted a one-time tax holiday as part of his overall tax plan. National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn weighed in on the tax holiday telling the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney on Varney & Co., “What the president was talking about last night which is something very important, it's a catch up for the money that’s still offshore. So the president is going to force companies to bring that money back to the United States so it can be spent and invested in the United States.”
When Varney asked how much of the $2.5 trillion U.S. companies have parked overseas the administration realistically hopes to repatriate, Cohn responded, “Well Stuart, it’s all coming back because we’re going to deem it. In the rules that we’re writing we’re going to force you to pay the tax on it whether you bring it back or not, we’re going to have deemed that you brought it back.”
Varney questioned the strategy, asking, “That’s kind of strong-arm tactics, Mr. Cohn, isn’t it?”
Cohn explained “Well, we’re leveling the playing field, we’re going from a worldwide system to a territorial system.”
According to Cohn, the administration sees the tax plan as paying for itself with the potential boost to the economy.
“We know what a 1% growth does to GDP. We know that’s about $3 trillion, so if people are scoring this as a $1.5 trillion deficit, 0.5% will pay for it.”