On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 08:58:40 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:
"New" 48 year old invention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ope6uViLcEY
Interesting video. Its nice that its stronger than regular glass, but I
would have liked to see them push it until it did break.
==========
Its an interesting product, but the corporate actions are
even more interesting.
From the available media reports, Corning will make no
attempt to [expand] manufacture of the product in the U.S.
but is converting an existing plant in Japan, with the
product in finished form, e.g. flat screen TVs, to be
imported to the United States.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/new-e...s-head-to-Asia
Thus not only are jobs exported, and the infrastructure/tax
base expanded in other than U.S. tax jurisdictions, but the
current account trade deficit increased at a time of serious
U.S. unemployment and deficits.
I have already written my Senators and Representative about
this [for what ever good that will do]. A copy of this
email is attached below. Feel to use all, any part, or none
of it, to write your own "Congress persons."
Almost all Senators and Representatives have a web site with
a mail page. You can locate your Senators and their web
mail addresses at
http://senate.gov/ any your representative
at
http://house.gov/ You can send an email to the President
at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ although there is a
1,500 character limit.
One hint -- after you identify your "Congress Persons" and
locate their web mail pages, "bookmark" for easy future
"nagging."
===== start of email ====
"GORILLA GLASS" AND THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER.
The media has had several news items about a new and rising
demand for a 50-year old product, a very strong and scratch
resistant glass by Corning.
For detailed information see:
http://news.google.com/news/search?a...s&oq =gorilla
The reason I am writing is that it appears the patent owner,
Corning, appears determined to export the jobs created by
the demand for this new old product, and the factory
investment needed to produce it.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/new-e...s-head-to-Asia
To be sure, as the owner of the patent [now apparently
expired] and possibly "trade secrets," they currently have
the right to produce the material wherever they wish and
import it for the U.S. market, however it is totally
unconscionable for them to receive U.S. tax credits for so
doing, either as special "investment tax credits," some sort
of "export tax credits for intellectual property," or
through deductibility of overseas investments and interest
as a business expense on their U.S. taxes.
The rationale for tax deductibility for "investments,"
interest, and capitalization/depreciation of R&D has been
that such tax preferences eventually generate enough U.S.
jobs, increase the U.S. tax base, develop the U.S.
manufacturing capacity and increase domestic "intellectual
property" enough to at least offset the taxes initially
lost. This is self-evidently no longer the case with the
proliferation of U.S. domiciled transnational corporations
and their increasing abuse of these provisions of the tax
code.
I am therefore suggesting:
(1) Revision of the IRS code to prohibit the tax
deductibility of investments and interest or other payments
for these investments, ON U.S. TAXES, for any facilities
constructed, operated or purchased outside U.S. tax
jurisdiction.
(2) Revision of the IRS code for the mandatory pro rata
reduction of tax deductabilities, tax exemptions, tax
credits, subsidies, etc. after the application of (1) above,
by the percent of non-U.S. citizens employed at these
facilities, illegal or legal, i.e. H1b. Most of the
required data is already available through the IRS W2 wage
reporting system, backed by ICE.
(3) Revision of the IRS code to provide for the recapture
of tax credits and deductions, with interest and penalties,
for "R&D," when the products or processes developed are
"exported" through sale or license for production overseas,
which are then imported into the U.S., unless it can be
shown that sufficient U.S. taxes have been generated by the
domestic application of the "R&D" through increased jobs,
increased tax base, etc. using accepted economic
methodology, to offset the tax reductions/exemptions. In
the case of "sleeper products" such as "Gorilla Glass," that
have remained dormant for many years, NPV/DCF adjustment
with a reasonable internal rate of return and inflation
adjustment should be applied to the original R&D
"investment" costs to prevent "shelving."
=== end of email ====
-- Unka George (George McDuffee)
...............................
The past is a foreign country;
they do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author.
The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).