The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Executive Vice President Jay Timmons issued the following statement in reaction to the Office of Management and Budget’s release of President Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2011:
“Manufacturers and their workers are disappointed that the Administration’s budget proposal for fiscal 2011 discourages job creation by adding new costs to business. The President called his budget a ‘blueprint for job creation and economic growth’ but it puts costly burdens on America’s job creators. Our nation’s unemployment rate continues to hover at 10-percent with many of the industrial sectors of the economy still struggling to recover from the recession.
The President’s budget calls for almost $500-billion in new taxes on businesses over the next 10 years including:
• A tax rate hike of almost five percentage points for many small and medium size businesses;
• $59 billion in new taxes on established businesses that hold inventory;
• A $122 billion tax increase for U.S. companies with worldwide operations ;
• A $19 billion reinstated “Superfund tax” on most corporations; and
• An additional $39 billion in new taxes on energy companies.
These tax increases will only create more costs for manufacturers – making it difficult for them to retain and create jobs in this fragile economy, and to be able to compete with other countries where their governments do not impose such burdens.