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H.R. 1, like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act before it, “made the United States a much more hospitable business environment” for manufacturers in the U.S. To keep the edge that legislation conferred, we must maintain a competitive tax code, Sylvamo Vice President of Tax Agnes Webb told Congress this week.

What’s going on: “The TCJA reduced the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21%,” Webb, of the Memphis-headquartered global paper company, told a House Ways and Means tax subcommittee hearing on competitiveness on Wednesday. “It established a competitive international tax system, one that made it easier to make things here in America and export them around the world.” 

• H.R. 1, passed in July, made the pro-growth tax provisions from the TCJA permanent and revived measures that had since expired, “solidifying the U.S. as a hub for manufacturing investment,” Webb continued.

A recipe for success: Sylvamo can employ 1,800 American workers across three locations and support 5,000 additional manufacturing jobs in rural U.S. mill communities in large part because of the benefits of the TCJA and H.R. 1, Webb told the subcommittee.

• The tax code prior to TCJA “was an outdated tax code that locked companies’ profits overseas and made it more costly to manufacture here in the U.S.,” she went on.
• “The TCJA helped Sylvamo tap into the location, the infrastructure and the skilled workforce here in America, creating jobs for thousands of hardworking Americans. . . . [It] worked, and this year Congress stepped up to make those provisions work for the long term.”

The details: H.R. 1 made industry-preserving changes to the global intangible low-taxed income, foreign-derived intangible income and base erosion and anti-abuse tax provisions that helped manufacturers avoid tax hikes, Webb said in response to a question from senior House Ways and Means Committee member Mike Kelly (R-PA).

• In addition, modifications to expense allocation mean Sylvamo is no longer double-taxed due to some of its facilities being overseas, she told Kelly.

The final word: “When we incentivize investment in America, we are strengthening our hand on the world stage with a permanent tax code that provides a foundation for growth,” Webb concluded.

• “That’s what makes Sylvamo’s story possible, and that’s how we secure a true U.S. manufacturing renaissance.”