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The editorial "Jay Seegmiller: A Democrat in the Matheson mold" (Our View, Sept. 9), which endorsed Seegmiller in the 2nd Congressional District race, mentioned his support for a corporate tax repatriation holiday, where corporations are encouraged to return to the United States profits stashed overseas by providing a one-time, extra-super-low tax rate.
Republicans love the idea. Plenty of Democrats are on board, too, including Rep. Jim Matheson and former President Bill Clinton.
It's a horrible policy. It won't add jobs and will end up being just a big giveaway to corporations. How do we know this? That's exactly what happened the last time there was a just-this-once special tax repatriation holiday, in 2005.
CEOs also know their tenure is likely to outlast the typical congressional term and certainly the attention span of the average citizen. So they'll continue to aggressively move profits overseas, knowing that in a few years they'll be able to bring the money back at a sweetheart one-time tax rate by promising that this time for sure they'll use it to create jobs.
If The Tribune is endorsing Seegmiller, it should be in spite of his support for this wrongheaded corporate welfare, not because of it.
Jason Arrington
Pleasant Grove