Taxes

You can count Hasbro's CEO among corporate leaders NOT freaking out about a border tax

Hasbro CEO: We need to think holistically about border tax
VIDEO5:1105:11
Hasbro CEO: We need to think holistically about border tax

Hasbro Chairman and CEO Brian Goldner told CNBC on Thursday he would deal with a border tax on imports in order to get a U.S. corporate tax rate reduction.

"You have to think about it holistically," Goldner said.

"The border adjustment tax, we would see [it] in line with the reduction of corporate tax rates," he said on "Squawk Box," adding he sees it "as a total package."

House GOP leaders are pushing a tax on imports to help pay for reducing the rate levied on American companies.

Donald Trump campaigned on cutting corporate taxes, but the White House has said the president has not committed to any specifics yet.

Goldner puts Hasbro's effective blended tax rate, taking into account operations all around the world, at about 24.5 percent. He added that the toymaker pays a "full tax burden" in the United States of 35 percent.

A border tax would certainly shave some of the benefits of a cut in corporate rates, but there are many levers to pull to mitigate the impact, Golden said.

Advocates of the border tax provision argue that any burden on companies that rely heavily on imports would be offset by an increase in the dollar's value due to the policy, thus negating the need for importers to hike prices for consumers.

Critics warn that the dollar may not behave as anticipated because there are so many global factors to consider, and even if the dollar rises that would hurt exporters, making American products more costly overseas.

Goldner said Hasbro has dealt with currency fluctuations in recent years and will take them as they come. He also pointed out the company has been able to thrive in Brazil even though that country has a 35 percent import tariff.