Microsoft threatens to move jobs overseas

Microsoft is trying to get tough with Congress in an issue over taxes, of course. Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer said Microsoft would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Obama's plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies' foreign profits.

It is unclear whether this is simply a veiled threat from one of the biggest players in the IT marketplace, but Ballmer sounds serious. "It makes U.S. jobs more expensive," Ballmer told the Washington Post. "We're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S."

Under federal tax law, companies can defer paying corporate rates as high as 35 percent on most types of foreign profits as long as that money remains overseas. It's a nice deal for U.S. companies taking work out of the country. But President Obama, during his presidential campaign, vowed to keep jobs in the United States especially at this time of high unemployment.

For more on Microsoft's stand:
- check out this Washington Post article

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