Rosenbloom on proven incentives to get offshore cash back home

David Rosenbloom has a great letter to the editor in Tax Notes today [gated], excerpts:

Recent press reports describe a large increase in January tax receipts as taxpayers shifted substantial amounts of income forward into 2012 in order to avoid the higher taxes anticipated for 2013. 

...We have been told, again and again, that there must be lower tax rates on accumulated foreign earnings in order to provide an appropriate incentive for U.S. multinational companies to repatriate the enormous sums they hold offshore.  

...It turns out that incentives can be created just as well by raising taxes as by lowering them. 

Who knew?

Nice. Empirical evidence that to get cash repatriated, the trick is to raise taxes with enough lead time for companies to move thing around. Best part: this process is totally repeatable next year.