80 NATIONAL GROUPS URGE CONGRESS TO OPPOSE TAX BREAKS FOR WEALTHY & CORPORATIONS IN BIDEN BUILD BACK BETTER PACKAGE

July 1, 2021

Today, Americans For Tax Fairness (ATF), along with 79 other national organizations, released a letter to Congress in support of President Biden’s Tax Plan. 

In the letter, the co-signers, write:

“Biden’s plans are big and bold public investments financed by requiring the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. The president’s economic plan—consisting of the American Jobs Plan, Americans Families Plan and Made in America Tax Plan—will finance $4.2 trillion in new investments with $3.8 trillion in revenues from the wealthy and corporations over 10 years. Those investments will rebuild roads, bridges, and other infrastructure; expand the use of clean energy; strengthen American manufacturing and small businesses; make healthcare premiums and housing more affordable; increase investment in public education, childcare, and home- and community-based supports for the elderly ​and people with disabilities; guarantee workers up to 12 weeks of annual paid family and medical leave; and help rebuild the middle class.”

The 80 organizations also outline two key areas in the Biden plan that must be included in any legislation:

  • Curb Corporate Tax Dodging & Offshoring
    1. Raise the corporate tax rate to at least 28%: A 25% rate is NOT high enough. The Trump tax law cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Biden’s proposal to raise it back to 28% will raise nearly $900 billion, $300 billion more than the 25% rate the business community asked for in 2017, enabling us to better invest in our families and communities. 
    2. Curb offshore corporate tax dodging: The tax code encourages corporations to outsource jobs and shift profits to tax havens because it taxes the foreign profits of U.S. firms at about half the domestic rate. Biden’s proposed reforms will take a big step to curb offshoring, raising more than $1 trillion, by doubling the tax rate on offshore profits from an effective 10.5% to 21% and implementing reforms to stop erosion of the corporate tax base and the shifting of intellectual property offshore. 
    3. Establish a 15% minimum corporate tax: Biden will ensure that large profitable corporations cannot get away with paying zero in federal income taxes by implementing a 15% minimum tax on the profits they report to shareholders, raising $150 billion.
  • Ensure the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share
    1. Tax wealth like work: For people earning more than $1 million a year (the richest 0.3% of taxpayers), Biden will close the loophole that lets them pay a tax rate on the sale of stock and other assets that is far lower (20%) than the top rate workers pay on wages (37%). Biden also will close a loophole that lets millionaires dodge taxes altogether on a lifetime of unrealized capital gains—income and increased wealth that the rich get from stocks and assets. These reforms will raise $325 billion.
    2. Restore the top individual tax rate and stop avoidance of healthcare taxes: To better ensure CEOs and other high-paid employees pay more fair taxes, Biden wants to restore the top individual rate to 39.6%, its rate before the Trump tax cuts. No one earning less than $453,000 a year will pay more tax. Biden will also close loopholes that result in wealthy business owners avoiding taxes that fund the Affordable Care Act. These two reforms will together raise $370 billion. 
    3. Crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy: Biden wants to reverse years of deep cuts to the IRS that resulted in much weaker tax enforcement of the wealthy and corporations. He will invest $80 billion to strengthen IRS enforcement and information technology and increase reporting of income to catch wealthy tax cheats. Such reforms will net $700 billion in revenue.  

You can read the full letter here.