Hagan, McCain introduce repatriation bill

Hagan and McCain’s bill, like the Brady-Matheson measure, also includes a penalty for corporations that cut jobs while using the holiday.

Critics of the 2004 holiday often point to studies that show companies that repatriated shed jobs, and that many of the funds brought to the U.S. were used for stock buybacks and dividend payments.

{mosads}Under the Hagan-McCain bill, companies that shed jobs must add $75,000 a worker to their gross income calculation. The Brady-Matheson bill puts that figure at $25,000 per worker.

Even with bills in both chambers, it remains to be seen whether the repatriation push will be successful.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), among the idea’s most prominent supporters, released a statement Thursday praising the Hagan-McCain effort.

“At a time when we need to take every possible step to ensure that America remains the best place to do business, Sen. McCain and Sen. Hagan’s legislation is the latest evidence of bipartisan support for repatriation, and I applaud their effort,” Cantor said.

Some Democrats have also suggested that repatriation could be linked to infrastructure initiatives.

But opponents have pointed to a projected price tag of $78 billion over a decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Elsewhere, the Obama administration and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have both signaled that they would rather deal with repatriation during the broader effort to reform the tax code.

For its part, the business community is also somewhat split on the need for a holiday.

This post was updated at 11:45 a.m.