Washington, D.C.– Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) released the following statement regarding Medtronic’s plan to purchase Covidien:

“As co-chair of the Medical Technology Caucus, I am saddened that a homegrown business, started in a Minnesota garage, will be moving its headquarters overseas. This clearly highlights the need to fix our broken tax code so American companies can be more competitive.

“U.S. companies currently not only face the highest tax rate in the industrialized world, but they also have to pay what amounts to a toll to bring their foreign earnings back to America. These tax burdens mean fewer American jobs, less American innovation, and fewer companies headquartered in the United States. In 1985, 17 of the top 20 businesses in the world were American – that number now stands at 6. Clearly, the tax code has not kept pace with the modern economy.

“Without comprehensive tax reform we will continue to see companies choosing to relocate overseas. We should strive to make the U.S. the best place to start and operate a business.”

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit paulsen.house.gov. 

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