Michigan senator wants to stop tax breaks for outsourcing

Vote expected soon on Sen. Stabenow's 'The Bring Jobs Home Act'

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) wants to see an end to tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

The U.S Senate will vote on her bill, The Bring Jobs Home Act, next week. The bill seeks to change the tax structure and end breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.

"We have a tax code that basically allows a company to write off all their costs related to packing up and moving overseas, which means the workers are paying the costs, the community is paying for the move," said Stabenow. "We all, as Americans, are paying every single one of these moves."

 Currently the cost of moving personnel or operations is considered a business expense that qualifies for a tax deduction. According to Stabenow's website, the bill will end that practice if it becomes law.

The Bring Jobs Home Act would also give tax breaks to companies that bring jobs back to the U.S.  The tax credit would be equal to 20 percent of costs associated with bringing jobs and business activity back into the country.

"Truly when you think about it, other counties look at us and they think, 'What in the world are we doing here?'" Stabenow said. "And if you have a company closing up and you have workers having to retrain people that are going to take their jobs, which happens too frequently, and on top of that they have to pay for the move because of the tax code? That's really outrageous."

Stabenow first introduced this bill in 2012 and it did not pass.  This time, she is hopeful it will win strong bipartisan support.

According to her website, nearly 700,000 Michigan jobs are vulnerable to export. Manufacturing jobs are especially vulnerable to outsourcing, with 80 percent offshorable.