The 2004 corporate tax revisions as a spaghetti western: good, bad, and ugly.

INTRODUCTION The original purpose of the American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA), passed in 2004, was to eliminate the Extraterritorial Income provision (ETI) that had been found to be an export [...]
The American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA) of 2004 eliminated the Extraterritorial Income provision (found to be an export subsidy), a change that improved economic efficiency and tax administration, as was likely the case with a number of tax shelter provisions. A provision allowing a special deduction from taxable income for manufacturing and certain other industries is likely to increase distortions and add complexity to the code. A temporary repatriation tax holiday for foreign source income is also likely to reduce revenue with little justification. Other foreign tax provisions are, however, more difficult to evaluate.