Reps. Kim, Suozzi, and Garbarino Introduce Bill to Help Businesses Recover from Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03), Congressman Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), andCongressman Thomas Suozzi(NY-03) introduced the Help Our Businesses Recover Act, a bill that would provide temporary relief to businesses that face a BEAT (base erosion and anti-abuse tax) liability for taxable year 2020 due to the pandemic’s economic impact, without undermining the effectiveness of the provision in the long-term.

“Our economy is turning the corner on the pandemic, and we need to make sure our businesses can fully recover and put people back to work,” said Congressman Kim. “This bipartisan bill would make sure our businesses aren’t punished at the same time we want to see them thrive and grow. I’m proud to partner with Congressman Suozzi and Congressman Garbarino to stand up for our businesses and look forward to working with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this important issue.”

“Long Island businesses have been devastated by this pandemic and the last thing they need is a heavy tax burden at a time when they are trying to regain what has been lost,” said Congressman Garbarino. “Canon, who employs thousands across Long Island, is one such company that has suffered under the current policy and has been instrumental in bringing the struggle of impacted businesses to light. This bipartisan bill will provide needed tax relief to help our businesses recover from the conditions brought on by COVID-19 and help get more New Yorkers back to work.”

Companies like Mount Laurel-based Canon Financial Services have incurred outsized BEAT liabilities as an unintended consequence of the partisan Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  President Biden’s Made in America tax plan would repeal and replace the BEAT with SHIELD (Stopping Harmful Inversions and Ending Low-tax Developments) to more effectively target profit shifting to low-taxed jurisdictions by multinational corporations, without unfairly penalizing some companies.

"We must stop multinational corporations from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions to avoid their fair share of taxes - the was one of the intentions of the BEAT tax provisions,” said Congressman Suozzi. “CANON, based here on Long Island, does not try to shift their profits or avoid taxes, but they have been inadvertently hit because of the poorly written and out of touch 2017 partisan tax bill. We all want to see our businesses recover and begin to once again create good paying jobs. That starts with providing relief to businesses - like CANON- that were unfairly targeted by the BEAT liability in the 2017 Tax Bill."

The full text of the bill can be found here.

“Canon USA is grateful for the ongoing and tireless efforts of Rep. Kim and his colleagues in the New Jersey and New York Congressional Delegations to try to correct this issue,” said Yoshinori Shimono, Senior Vice President at Canon USA and President of Canon Financial Services, a company impacted by BEAT tax issues. “Their work is critical to helping Canon USA recover from the pandemic and preserve and grow jobs in New Jersey and New York.”

Congressman Kim is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Small Business. More information about Congressman Kim can be found on his website by clicking here. 

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