Sylvamo Tells Ways and Means Tax Changes Enabled $150M Investment; Lawmakers Debate Tariff Fallout
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Summary
Agnes Webb of Sylvamo told the House Ways and Means subcommittee that permanent expensing and international tax fixes enabled roughly $150 million in new investment in South Carolina; members used her testimony to contrast corporate investment incentives with evidence that tariffs raise consumer costs.
Agnes Webb, vice president for tax at Sylvamo, told the House Ways and Means subcommittee that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the recently enacted Working Families Tax Cuts Act materially improved her company's ability to plan and finance capital spending. "The TCJA helped Sylvamo tap into the location, the infrastructure, and the skilled workforce here in America," Webb said during her five-minute statement, and later told members the company announced approximately $150,000,000 in new investments in South Carolina in 2025.
Webb explained the mechanics: immediate expensing for research and development and capital equipment, improved expense allocation rules that reduce double taxation exposure to GILTI, and an expanded FDII-like deduction for exports all make large, multi-year manufacturing projects more financially viable. She told lawmakers that the permanent status of these provisions was essential because major capital projects require multi-year planning: "New investments like these can take years to plan, and the ability to plan for the future really depends on having a predictable and stable tax environment."
Members asked Webb how the provisions affect wages and hiring; she said the company regularly reevaluates compensation and that lower tax burdens provide "more room to stay competitive and support our employees." Several members, across party lines, cited her testimony in broader arguments whether tax permanence or tariffs do more to influence industrial location decisions. Democrats and Professor Clausing pushed witnesses to explain the tradeoffs: Clausing cautioned that tariffs on intermediate inputs raise manufacturing costs and can negate the advantages from tax policy, while some Republicans emphasized the need for targeted incentives to promote reshoring to distressed communities.
Webb's remarks were the most business-centric testimony in a hearing otherwise focused on macro tax architecture and trade-policy disputes. No formal legislative outcomes were decided at the hearing; members signaled possible follow-ups including adjustments to credit rules, BEAT, and targeted incentives to encourage investment in economically distressed areas.
