Wood Products Firm Calls for End to Tax Havens

By Bill Esler | 04/11/2012 9:51:00 AM

 

WASHINGTON, DC - Spencer Organ Company owner Joseph Rotella will make a high-profile appearance on Capitol Hill tomorrow morning, joining U.S. Rep. Van Hollen (D-MD) at press conference to call for tax reform.

Rotella, along with several other small businesses, has joined a coalition of advocacy groups pressing for tax code revisions, asking for changes that they say are harmless to small businesses, while benefiting consumers - including their employees. The groups have also urged the U.S. Senate enact a “Buffett Rule” by passing the Paying a Fair Share Act (S. 2230) now before the chamber.

Spencer Organ owner Joseph Rotella will speak on Capitol Hill April 12. Based in Spencer, MA, Spencer Organ Company specializes in organ rebuilding, renovation and maintenance. It also manufactures organ parts, including consoles, wood pipes and other components to the trade and for other organ renovators.

Rotella will appear at 10 a.m. on April 12 as the U.S. Public Interest Research Group unveils a study of tax payments by U.S. corporations headquartered offshore. Called “Picking Up the Tab: Average Citizens and Small Businesses Pay the Price for Offshore Tax Havens," the study is expected to reveal the impact corporate tax avoidance schemes have on tax liabilities for small businesses and individuals. The groups contend that small businesses pick up the tab for large corporations.

"Tax cuts that lead to cuts in important infrastructure and public services hurt my business, my employees and the communities we live in," Rotella said in a recent op-ed article in the Washington Post. "There’s nothing sensible about giving big corporations tax breaks while our infrastructure becomes increasingly unreliable, unsafe and outdated."

Rotella received a music degree from Boston University in 1992, where he apprenticed with renowned Boston organ restorer Nelson Barden. Spencer Organ Company was formed in 1995, handling restoration for organ owners and for organ builders that prefer to outsource restoration work.

Rotella is a member of Business for Shared Prosperity, a network of business owners and executives progressives pressing for tax reform. BSP in turn is a member of  the American Sustainable Business Council. which says it represents 100,000 companies and 200,000 business leaders.

called “Picking Up the Tab: Average Citizens and Small Businesses Pay the Price for Offshore Tax Havens," and discuss the impact of corporate tax dodging. The report reveals how costly corporate tax avoidance is by calculating how much ordinary taxpayers and small businesses would have to pay to close the gap.

 

 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bill Esler

Bill Esler woodworkingnetwork Wood Lumber Custom Cabinets Bill Esler, Associate Publisher/ Editor in Chief, Woodworking Network Bill is responsible for editing Custom Woodworking Business and coordinating all content for Wood & Wood Products , CLOSETS , Woodworkingnetwork.com and Closetsdaily.com, along with related newsletters. Bill’s expertise includes using innovative print manufacturing techniques to grow audience engagement, using textured offset, digital printing, purls, QR codes; and lead-generating webcasts, custom websites, and custom digital and print content. Read Bill Esler's woodworking blogs

 


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bob    
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md  |  April, 11, 2012 at 01:53 PM

what specific tax code revisions are being sought? the article and Joseph Rotella never say. Whether our not our infrastructure is unreliable, unsafe and outdated has nothing to do with the issue being discussed. The fact that our government does not allocate resources well is nothing new. It's a separate issue. I'm still looking for the proposed tax revisions the small business is seeking.

Bill Esler    
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Lincolnshire IL  |  April, 11, 2012 at 03:59 PM

Bob,
Thanks for the question. I meant to link to more info; so I've added the name of one bill, and a link in the article to the longer release about it.
"American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), Business for Shared Prosperity (BSP) and Main Street Alliance (MSA) called on the Senate to legislate a “Buffett Rule” by passing the Paying a Fair Share Act (S. 2230), assuring that households with incomes above $1 million don’t pay lower tax rates than middle-income taxpayers."

Shawn    
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MI  |  April, 12, 2012 at 06:30 AM

What I don't understand is why so many folks are wanting everyone to pay higher taxes, rather than getting rid of the fat and instituting accountability as to where our money is being spent. While Joseph Rotella may be correct that the infrastructure is being allowed to fall apart it is not because we don't already pay enough, it is because what we *do* pay is being wasted. As I'm sure Joseph understands, it is a very difficult thing for small businesses to remain profitable in these days when our government seems to be doing everything possible to destroy our ability to remain in business through confiscatory taxation and over-regulation. Many of those who leave our shores have done so because they can't afford to stay if they are going to remain in business.

Rob    
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NC  |  April, 12, 2012 at 06:48 AM

Just one more maneuver of escape and evade the Fed. Gov. taxman. The short term
mentally of if they are picking on the bigger guy maybe they won't be picking on me. If they could only get Warren Buffet to
pay the taxes he already owes it would be worth more than what the Buffet Rule would bring in. That alone shows that it's not
about raising revenue it's about crony capitalism.

Joe    
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Vista, CA  |  April, 12, 2012 at 09:38 AM

It's only fair that those who are prospering in this country pay their fare share in taxes. This nonsense of tax havens and tax breaks for companies relocating out of the U.S. has got to stop.


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