New law aims to prevent state business with expatriate companies

State Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, says a measure he cosponsored will help prevent Illinois from doing business with corporations that stash profits overseas.

House Bill 3419 became law when the legislature overrode a veto by the governor earlier this month.

“When large corporations break these rules and attempt to hide their profits in offshore bank accounts, they are hurting businesses and taxpayers who are following the laws,” said Beiser. “To hold these companies responsible for their bad behavior, this new law prevents state dollars from being invested with companies that don’t play by the rules.”

In 2003, the federal government put in place restrictions on contracting with or investing federal funds in expatriate corporations that avoid paying taxes by stashing profits overseas. Beiser’s House Bill 3419 restricts similar actions on the state level. The Illinois Investment Policy Board will also be required to investigate and identify a list of expatriate corporations that the state should avoid working with. Illinois has similar investment and business restrictions on businesses that have connections to Iran and Sudan and those that boycott Israel.

“When Gov. Rauner vetoed this legislation he demonstrated once again that he is only looking out for large corporations and not small business or taxpayers,” Beiser said. “Democrats and Republicans came together and supported a commonsense approach to supporting local businesses. I am hopeful that we can continue to work together going forward.”

— The Illinois Business Journal