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Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that the Senate Committee on Finance passed the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 which includes a provision to extend and expand IRS 30A tax credits for American Samoa.
“I want to personally thank Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch of the Senate Finance Committee for getting our provision in the base text of the bill also known as the manager’s mark,” Faleomavaega said. “This process has not been easy, and Senator Bingaman’s support has especially been critical to our success today as has been the support of Senator Ron Wyden.”
“Since last year, my office has had off-the-record discussions with the Finance Committee. Based on those discussions, as the Senate moved toward introducing a tax bill, we first anticipated that the extension of our tax credit would be included in the base text of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012. However, on Tuesday night of this week, our 30A provision was left out of the first proposal put forward by Chairman Baucus because some Senators raised concerns that our 30A tax credit only benefitted a single business – StarKist – due to Chicken of the Sea’s departure from American Samoa in 2009, one day after our islands were hit by a tsunami.”
“Several Senators felt it was bad tax policy to provide a tax credit for only one company and other Senators were not open to expanding the credit to include other industries or companies at a time when our country is in the middle of an economic downturn. After a series of internal discussions and written correspondence and upon learning that we had been left out of the first mark, Senator Bingaman graciously agreed to offer an amendment on American Samoa’s behalf.”
“We agreed that the best way forward was to offer an amendment that expanded the credit to apply to other manufacturers, including Tri-Marine, so that we could restore competitive balance between the two canneries, with the potential of also attracting new investors if a company could meet the eligibility criteria. Senator Bingaman’s amendment was to be offered at this morning’s mark-up and, in anticipation of the mark-up, I reached out to Republican allies for support.”
“Last night, with Senator Hatch agreeing, we made the manager’s mark and were included in the base text of the bill, thanks to strong behind-the-scenes support from key Republicans. Senator Wyden was also very helpful in supporting our cause. I am deeply appreciative for all those who were willing to support our 30A provision, given how important this provision is to stabilizing American Samoa’s economy until such time as ASG can put an action plan in place to diversify our local economy. Both Democrats and Republicans realize that this provision will protect thousands of jobs in the Territory, and I am thankful for the strong showing of support the people of American Samoa received today.”
“The Joint Tax Commission (JTC) has estimated that the revenue cost of a two-year straight extension of the credit to be $38M for 10 years. We do not have a score for the inclusion of other manufacturers, like Tri-Marine, but we do believe the cost will be similar.”
“Once more, I want to thank those who have stood with us, including Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch of the Senate Finance Committee who fought for our provision, Chairman Jeff Bingaman and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for their unwavering support and commitment, Senator Ron Wyden, and those Republican Senators who were prepared to vote in favor of our amendment had it been necessary. I also thank Ranking Member Sander Levin from the House Committee on Ways and Means who weighed in on our behalf, and I look forward to working with Chairman Camp, too.”
“Now that we have been successful in our efforts to include 30A in the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012, the Senate will soon consider the entire Act. If passed, the bill will be considered by the House, but it is unclear whether or not the House will accept the Senate version or will present a version of its own which will set up the need to conference both bills at a later date. Whatever the case, I will continue to keep our people updated as the matter progresses,” Faleomavaega concluded.
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