WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 8, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) led 7 of his colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee in sending a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her to protect U.S. taxpayers and hold Germany accountable for overextending its tax authority on American businesses and industry.
As outlined in the letter, Germany is applying a tax provision written in 1925 on American intellectual property registered in Germany. Historically, German tax authorities have not applied Section 49 and there is no precedent for applying such a tax.
“Our nation is nearly $32 trillion in debt, and it is incumbent upon Congress to protect taxpayer dollars when foreign countries target American businesses for revenue, a recurring problem. I am proud to lead my Ways and Means colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Yellen urging her to take steps to raise this issue with Germany and ensure that our companies are not being unfairly treated in the German tax code,” said Rep. Feenstra. “This German tax provision applies predominantly to U.S. firms, and their finance ministry has acknowledged that revenue collection is the primary motivation. I look forward to working with Secretary Yellen and my colleagues to resolve this issue and protect American taxpayers.”
Specifically, the German tax law imposes a withholding tax on royalty payments for patents and trademarks registered in Germany. However, registration alone is not generally considered a sufficient reason to apply such taxes.
The letter requests a briefing for the Ways and Means Committee from Secretary Yellen and asks that she take steps to protect taxpayer dollars.
You can read the full letter HERE.
Original source can be found here.
