Finding new sources of revenue is a top priority for the happy-go-spendy Congress. But one taxation option that could have caused U.S. companies to cut millions of jobs just got taken off the table – for now.

That option would have reversed a longstanding U.S. tax exemption for U.S. businesses that operate branches abroad and don’t bring those profits back stateside

If the tax exemption were reversed, business owners could simply relocate their base operations abroad to avoid paying up – if they didn’t, they could risk losing a competitive advantage to foreign competitors who weren’t subject to the tax.

Republicans were worried about the loss of millions of American jobs, as companies relocated their centers of business off of U.S. soil and took their domestic branches with them. Other countries do not impose a tax on foreign-operated businesses.

Democrats were initially open to the tax, possibly to help fund the 1.3 trillion dollar health care bill now being considered in Congress. President Obama’s Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, voiced his support for the measure in March.

But yesterday, Rep. Charles Rangel, (D-N.Y.), chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, said that he didn’t want to conflagrate tax reforms with health care reform. Continued...