Friend: This Wednesday -- Invitation: Peter Morici on Tax Reform, Trade Competitiveness

Business and Policy Briefing:
How Foreign Consumption Taxes
Price American Businesses
Out of Export Markets

Friend: register today to learn about a tax structure that is truly innovative and effective--one that is used by the majority of the world's nations.

Americans - and only Americans - are double taxed when selling overseas. Foreign countries have replaced their tariffs with consumption taxes on imports as trade liberalization has proceeded.

Chinese, Mexican and other countries' manufacturers receive generous consumption tax rebates when exporting.  

As a result of these tax subsidies, American companies are often priced out of export markets.

For decades, government officials have refused congressional directives to solve this problem in trade negotiations.  

In this briefing, we will provide an outline of this issue and solutions:

*  Dr. Peter Morici, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Univ. of Maryland, will discuss the competitive advantages of tax reform that include offsetting income taxes with consumption taxes. 

*  Burl Finkelstein, Kason Industries, will relate the challenges his company faces when competitors receive tax rebates upon export. 

*  Michael DiRoma, QGA Public Affairs, will discuss the experiences of Canada, Australia and India in implementing consumption taxes.

When:  Wednesday, May 21 - 8:30-10:30a (Registration at 8:00 am)

Location:  National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 529 14th St NW, Washington, DC

About the Presenters:

Peter Morici, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Univ. of Maryland

Peter Morici is an economist and professor of business at the University of Maryland. In addition, he is a widely published columnist in major metropolitan dailies throughout the United States and Canada, and on the websites of Fox, NewsMax, UPI, and TheStreet.com.  He participates in the weekly and quarterly forecasting surveys at Reuters, Bloomberg, Market Watch, and several other services, and his views are featured several times each week on the major networks and cable news networks. He is five-time winner of the Market Watch Top Forecaster award.  He is the author of 18 books, numerous scholarly articles and has published in the Harvard Business Review and Foreign Policy. He received his PhD in Economics from the State University of New York in 1974.

Burl Finklestein, Executive VP and General Counsel, Kason Industries

Burl Finkelstein has worked at Kason Industries for over 34 years in various roles from manufacturing engineer to VP of Engineering and now serves as the Executive VP of Operations and In-House Counsel.  Burl has completed almost four decades of technical work that includes product design and manufacturing process design and development.  His hands-on experiences have nurtured a passion for manufacturing and a drive to make products in the United States. Burl is on the CPA Board of Directors and is the incoming Chairman of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers.

Michael DiRoma, Director and In-House Counsel, QGA Public Affairs

Michael is a Director at QGA Public Affairs and acts as the firm's In-House Counsel. He brings extensive legislative and regulatory experience to QGA, having most recently served as a law clerk for the House Committee on Ways and Means. He also spent nearly four years working as a research associate for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, where he performed legal, financial, and tax policy research, including preparation of congressional testimony on Dodd-Frank Act implementation.  In 2008, Michael served as a law clerk in the White House Counsel's Office during the Bush Administration.

Moderator: Michael Stumo, CEO, Coalition for Prosperous America

Click here to see this announcement online on CPA's Trade Reform site