Marathon Pundit: Obama's push to raise taxes on overseas earnings could see a wave of jobs leaving our shores

By raising corporate taxes on overseas earnings to pay for health care reform and Lord knows what else, the Obama administration will drive jobs overseas.

Which lead to hire unemployment. We're already at a 9.4 percent unemployment rate nationally--the highest rate in a quarter of a century.

For instance, let's start with a couple of Wall Street Journal articles:

Democrats have spent years arguing that corporate tax rates don't matter to U.S. competitiveness. But all of a sudden one of their favorite arguments for government-run health care has become . . . U.S. corporate competitiveness. Political conversions on this scale could use a little scrutiny.

"Businesses now recognize that if we don't get a handle on this stuff then they are going to continue to be operating at a competitive disadvantage with other countries," President Obama recently remarked. "And so they anxiously seek serious reform."

Forgive me, Mr. President, as far as the federal government is concerned, businesses generally seek to be left alone.

In our second Journal article, from last month (subscription required), the paper notes Obama's union brigades have been called onto the scene.

U.S. labor unions are joining a push by the Obama administration to raise taxes on the foreign profits of U.S. multinationals. An AFL-CIO official will urge a Senate committee Tuesday to use the proceeds from Obama's tax changes - as much as $210 billion - to help fund an overhaul of the U.S. health-care system.

That will bring jobs home, right?

Wrong.

Bloomberg explains:

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer said the world’s largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama's plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies
foreign profits.

"It makes U.S. jobs more expensive, "Ballmer said in an interview. "We're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S."

BizJornals.com goes into more detail:

Business groups pounced on President Barack Obama's proposal to increase taxes on companies with foreign operations, contending this would make U.S.-based multinationals less competitive against their global counterparts.
More...

Businesses were most concerned about Obama's proposed changes to tax deferral rules. Most countries tax business profits only where they are earned. U.S.-based multinationals, however, are taxed in other countries and in the U.S. The ability to defer U.S. taxes helps level the playing field, according to business groups.

"When you limit deferral, you limit the ability of U.S. companies to compete, you impede growth in the U.S. economy, and you cause the loss of jobs -- both at the companies directly impacted and companies in their supply chains," said Marty Regalia, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"At a time when our economy is struggling and thousands of jobs are being lost every month, imposing an additional tax on U.S.-based international companies would put them at a massive disadvantage and cost American jobs," said John Engler, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.

About 21 million Americans work for companies with overseas operations, according to NAM.