>> business news from the capital region. this is "washington business rereport" with abc7 nationalal correspondent rebecca cooper. >> welcomeme. fresh look at business and finance and the washingn region. coming up, our one on e wi "the donald.d." turns out he isis coming toto washingt after all, just not to thehite house. plus, crowd safety andnd safy information. and in our roundtable, we deba whether corporatate tax exemptin are unpatriotic. and b businesses atattempt to gt new immigration laws passed. donanald trump and family camemo break ground on thehe nexbig projt -- a trump hotel taking over a at the post office buildg

on pennsylvania avenue. asked him-on-one, i noonly about his vision for high-end luxury in the nation's capital, but also which washington politician he thinks might make a good ceo. donald trump, welcome to "washington business report." we areere at the old post office, buit is going to take a lot of work. the building is in disrepair. ofit is a lot of work, a lot money, and a lotf imagination. we have worked hard with talented people. -- so many different people came together. republics and democrats came together and got this done. it is an amazing feat. we got together, different parties, diffent persuasions of every type. everybody got togeth and got it done. we are very honored by that.

, we are going to build one of the great hotels of the world and employ a lot of people. >> it went from a building where people said, tearing dow and then it became the hottest bid. all the big names wanted it. people were not happy when trump won the bid. he said you didn't get better, -- they said you did it better editedited it banca -- cr ivanka. even 10 billion scotland, a recent acquisition -- she is very talented. had probably the strongest or one of the strongest financial savings. it was really important to gs so -- gso to make sure it gets done. we had great statements and great cash flows. maybe be of even greater importance, we h the best mission to build a fantastic hotel.

my record is -- as you know, i have already a number of top-rated hotels anywhere in n e world, including the number one rated hotel in north america, whicincludes canada. >> skeptics say you are not going to make money on this property at the rates you will need to charge. are you going to make money? >> what we will do is a great job. i will make money. it is not going to affect me. that is nice. we were going to do something that is spectacular. my history has been, i do the right thing. i do spectacular jobs. they turn out to be successful. it is going to be spectacular. of course, and has not been maintained for many years, but it has details the >> of which nody has in the country. middle ofght in the

pennsylvania avenue, between congress and the white house. nobody has a location like that. some of the guys from washington say, you have the best location in d.c. it has a lot of things going, and we are going to spend a lot of money on it. good deal. to be a >> you have lots of luxury hotels. which is your vorite? >> i have a lot of t them. -- it was early. a great succs. central park west has been a tremendous success. toronto, we have a great hotel.. . autiful hotel in salem one of the most beautiful buildings in latin americica in panama, near the panama canal. we are building in china, in india. we have many more buildings ing up. have a great record of success. bids.ad 100 they bke it down to 10.

all 10.e stars, had ase us becaususe we concept that was better, and i think a track record that was better than the others. >> if you were going somewhere for business, which would you most want to stay in? >> ultimately, it might be this one. we are g going to have the largt luxury ballroom in d.c., the best suites, the biggest and most luxurious. had a concept that was better, andwe y top-of-the-line. i am trying to make this the finest hotel anywhere in the world. we have the bones to do it. meaning the building itself. we have what it takes to do it. and we have the location. i think ultimately this is the one we areoing to be most excited about. couple of times through the process said it would've been ok if you toned down your comments about the president while you were in the middle of bidding for a government property. much to you, stop criticizing the president, this

is business? >> it was refreshing to see it was very nonpolitical. we won it based on a great balance sheet, and that we were going to get it done. we have had problems where they choose somebody and cannot get financing, can i get it done. i think maybe more important is the vision. we have a vision for this building that is second to none. >> looking at the washington landscape, you have been outspoken in their criticism of president obama. are there politicians out there that you think are doing such a good job you would hire them as a ceo? is the any politician you think, that person could run a business? >> some are very competent and some are very incompetent. i know some that i am amazed they ever get elected. and i have seen some that are amazingly competent. i have great respect for a lot of politicians. their life is not easy. they are being criticicized from many different angles. and they survive.

some of them do a great job for the country. i have great respector politicians, a smart politician who do something -- does something for the country and not just themselves. there areot that many, but we have some brilliant and talented politicians. >> even my kids know who you are, and my 11-year-old said yesterday, w is he so rich? and i saidit is s because he is going to take a risk. what would you have said? >> i love what i do, and i am good at it. is build,nd i build better than anybody else. even the great builders in new york will say i am the best. and i i know how to do it. this will go up so fast and so beautifully. it has not been maintained, as you said. this will go up so fast, a be so beaiful, and i will bring out some of the great hilights. i will bring out some of the highlights that people have not

even noticed for the last hundred years. that is what i like doing e best. that is probably what i do the best. want to look at granite counterts for our new building? orni, you will say, let's get up? >> she does it. >> a thanks to donald trump. mamaybe n the most modest m mann business, 's certainly a master of real estate. whetherr he has any business weaknesses, and hohow he managed to raise children withth a strog work ethic despite their wealth -- we will be running ththe secd half of our one-on-one with donald trump in e coming weekeks, so stay tuned. when we return, our small business spotlight concentrates on a company that does not n ned a sales depapartment. keep students on college campuses safe, and a lot more. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman,

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our small business spotlight is a reminder to allnnovators that even trageds can lead to good ideas i can help others and create jobs. today, we spotlight a compapany that now has t the backing of major vestors. the internet conglomerate iac believes in it, the world's first social safety network, starting with the mantra, if you see something, say something.. the cofounder of lives saved is a survivor, havinlived through what happened at virginia tech. >> she was sitting in her class

when a gunman walked in and shot her three times. she was the second of 2 shootings. they thought was, could something have happened in bebetween, where people could've identified the shooter? asschool campuses are not accessible as the phone in your hand. universities have signedn to be pt of the network. >> they want to get in front of these issues. 25% of our users are women. >> it allows people to speak out before a crime is committed. >> you see a woman walking home, and there is someone she thinks is following her, but she is not sure, so she does not want to call the police. a lot of times, it is between doing nothing and calling 911. >> officers can dispatch crews

if necessary. or app allows parents friends to escort you home with the use of gps and your permission, make sure you get there safely. the team works on improving softwarere, ofring tech support, and expanding networks. they do not have a sales network. the product almost sells itself. >> most hear about it through another school. you'll hear about it from a chief of police or another school. if you hear about it, it is usually somewhat of a no-brainer. often, it means someone hearing about us and calling our school and saying, you should talk to these folks. >> ialready has the attention of big-name investors. c, our lead funder is ia interactive corporation. they on match.com, vimeo, and ot hers. >> $6.5 million in investment money this spring. >> they see a space that is ripe

for disruption, allowing people to crowd source the book safety. we cannot go fast eugh. we read the same papers. we watch the same shows, the latest shootings and sexual assaults.. realally, we need to do more,, t -- safed are -- more, faer. >> coming up, businesses taking advantage of tax advantages and setting up outside the u.s. is it unpatriotic? [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman,

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>> welcome b back, it is time fr the round table. this week, two words are at the top of the agenda for business leaders when it comes to washington -- immigration and inversrsion. president obama anand many business leaders remain frustrated on migration overhaul is not happening on that little hill. the ceo's are wary of a white house initiative to end so-called corporate inversion, wherere businesses take advantae of tax opportunities overseas. the white house calls that unpatriotiand e determined to end it. topics,tackle both hot our favorite regegulars, a professor of economics at the unersi of maryland, and a principal picked as one of -- washington's st powerful leaders ithe business community. peter, you can call it inrsion.n. the presisident calls it unpatriotic. explaiain what it . >> essentially, it is whenen an ameran company buys and mees with a foreign company, n normay

in europe, where the tax rate is lower. the merged company locates its headquarters in that locatation and thereforore has a lor corporate tax rate. any profits en't prior arare still bject to the u. corporate tax rate. europe.t hard u.s. corporarate taxes highethan just about anywhere else. nine corporate conversions this year. chiquita banana. yo can buy bananas. the profit is herere. but we cannot tax them at a u. tax rate. is that unpatriotic? like it is interesting to talk about patriotism at a time when corporations can have religious viewpoints and free speech. >> and now they have to be patriotic. >> we get a lot of benefits from dog business in the e unit states. to payskeded to ststay here

taxes, that is a value judgment. taxes,rican corporate marginal rates are high,ut on overall babasis, a lot of cocompanies do not pay any tax t all.l. >> therere loopholes and exemptions. you can get your tax rate much lolower. >> there are a lotf variations in who pays how much taxe the companies doing t this are papaying very high tes. that is w they are doing it. if you knock seven or eight percentage points off the corpate tax by relocating to irand or england, t that comes to t the btom line. they have a respononsibility to shareholders to do this. >> iff you believe in capitalis, you cannot fault a ceo with correct i believe in capitalism. a setlism exists within of rules and norms in society. before we give the president a hard time for saying - shouldons shouldn't be patrioticthis is an i incom syem that is s stable, predictable. >> is itood or bad f for business to t r rid o of

inversio as someone who looks at the business side of things, i think we neeeed a cororporate tax rate that encourages more companies to come to the u u.s. that would reqre g getting rid of se loopophole i am not sure that is going to happen. >> to get r rid of loophpholes,u have to make oth people unhappy even as you make others happier. if you want to haveve revenue neutral -- on top of that, every analyst i speak to on the democratic side always says, let's have corporarate tax refo, but raise revenue in the process. long g as we have that kind of talk of a we are not going to have a dea >> corporate tax incentives, or loloopholes, getting rid of corporate inversion -- which mamakes ththe most sense to grot ecomy? ask a lower tax rate wiout loopholes, so eveverybody pa about e same amount, if you di that, it woul not pay to have inversions in moscases, and jobs wouould stay here. if you believe in capitalism and free markets, people ought t toe

free to do business where they choooose. calling them unpatriic -- i cannot go that far. >> i agree with the first part of what you said with respect to taxes. a treatise some, not so much. tax rates would make a lot of sense and help this country. >> i wanant to move on to immigration. friday, the president brought seveveral leaders from central america to say, please stop letting mothers and children fleded into the u.s., and triedo stress they are not going to get instant asylum. but there are a lot of countries who believe that they m might. right now, the white house is saying theyslation, might take executive orders that might include at least temporary asylum. >> i do not know how you avoid giving some of these kids temporary asylum when you consider the dangers they face. in terms of talking to countries we do business witith -- we hava free trade agreement with

central americ couries and mexico. thesese children are riding on p of rail cars all the way through mexico, and the mexicans have refused historicalllly to cooperate. it seems to o me iff they want e benefits of thisis mart and our assistance in other areas, we need their assistance in this ar. itit is time to g tough and rough up the nose ofhe mexican president a bit. >> i immigration is a long-term crisisand this sort of i issue is egging it worse. if the e business community wants overhaul, and the democrats, the presisident, , jn boehehner -- what is the busines communitdoing wrong g that they are not getting it? they have been pushing this nationwide and it is not going anywhere. >> it has tolso o overcome prejudice, plain and simple. this is an emotional issue. if ery love i decision was made by economists. we wou be much bter off. if that isis not the way it wor.

>> is thtea party hoholding up immigration? >> it is t american public. since the begiing of the century, the u.s. economy has only createded 6 million jobs. immigrants have found 6 millionn additional jobs in the ited states. we have not cread a single job r nave america on a net basis. out 20% unemployment rate. it is hard to t the voting public behind immigration. if you did immmmigration reform, would it stop these children from cominout of a lousy enenvironmnment? >> i can only wish that everyone in the u.s. has the same work etc of many of my friends who are recent immigrants. >> 30% of silicon valley startups are from recent migrants. buhere is ththing. what per is talking about -- the reality is that our middle class is now the 27th least -- number 27 overall in wealth. we have a significant jobs crisis in this country because ,f the china import

unemployment every day.. weeed to start creating high-quality jobs, and we will worry a t less about immigratn. autf we did s something china, weould be worrying about immigratioless, but we haveve to wait tanother white house for that one. what's i think we can take them all on andnd still let m more pe in, i do not have to run a company. i just get too ask her question. much more with you all in a couple of weeks.

>> thanks runing g in this weweek. keep in mind w we always want to hear from you, a there are many ways you cado that. t in touch with on fafacebook, on twitter, or by going to wjla.com. in the cominggeeks, we arere taking a bit of a summer hiatus to b bring you some of our vy best one-on-one interviews. you can watch thehem all here on sundays at 9:00 a.m. after the summer break, round 2 with donald trump, and a lot more. i am rebecca cooper. stay tuned this and every susundayand have a g great weekd.

>> this weekn "governmt matters." >> we have government regulation that i is too o heavy-handed. >> the comments are in. whats next for net neutrality? up some deals for them with the government. >> japan's ban on weapons exports. how will u.s. companies react? >> definitely giving consideration to protected activity. >> insight from one of the industry's top lenders. when "government matters" starts right now. >>