Herzfeld Mindy
University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, FL USA.
Int Tax Public Financ. 2021;28(5):1163-1187. doi: 10.1007/s10797-021-09675-0. Epub 2021 Jun 30.
The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) introduced the most significant changes to the US international tax system in decades. The law changes have been criticized for reducing equity, benefiting wealthier business owners at the expense of individuals in the long term (while also increasing the deficit) adding to complexity, and creating incentives for shifting profits and activities offshore. These critiques give rise to the question of how best, and under what criteria, to evaluate the changes to the international tax system brought about by the US tax reform. This paper analyzes the tax law changes adopted in the TCJA that impact cross-border investment within the context of several decades of policy proposals that recognized the flaws and deficiencies of the prior system and attempted to develop proposals that balanced creating incentives for the efficient use of capital and the benefits of US investment overseas while minimizing incentives for profit shifting. Reviewing the various provisions of the law in the context of a series of reform proposals made over the previous decade shows the extent to which most of the international law changes introduced by the TCJA closely followed these well-developed ideas. And yet, there appears to be a disconnect between the goals of the law change and the extent to which the laws as enacted have effectuated that change. The divergence provides a cautionary tale for public finance economists wishing to engage in international tax regime change.
《减税与就业法案》（TCJA）对美国国际税收体系进行了数十年来最为重大的变革。这些法律变革饱受批评，原因包括降低了公平性，长期来看以牺牲个人利益为代价使更富有的企业主受益（同时还增加了赤字），增加了复杂性，以及为将利润和活动转移至海外创造了动机。这些批评引发了一个问题：如何以最佳方式以及依据何种标准来评估美国税收改革给国际税收体系带来的变化。本文在过去几十年政策提议的背景下，分析了《减税与就业法案》中影响跨境投资的税法变革，此前的政策提议认识到了先前体系的缺陷和不足，并试图制定出既能为有效利用资本创造激励，又能兼顾美国海外投资收益，同时将利润转移动机降至最低的提议。在过去十年一系列改革提议的背景下审视该法律的各项条款，可以看出《减税与就业法案》引入的大多数国际税法变革在很大程度上都紧密遵循了这些成熟的理念。然而，法律变革的目标与已颁布法律实现该变革的程度之间似乎存在脱节。这种差异为希望参与国际税收制度变革的公共财政经济学家提供了一个警示故事。
