Democrats unveiled a new proposal on Tuesday to impose a 15% minimum tax on corporate profits to help pay for President Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar social welfare bill.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, said the proposal is targeted to ensure that large corporations, such as FedEx and Nike, pay their “fair share” in taxes.
“The most profitable corporations in the country are often the worst offenders when it comes to paying their fair share. Year after year they report record profits to shareholders and pay little to no taxes,” said Mr. Wyden. “Our proposal would tackle the most egregious corporate tax dodging by ensuring the biggest companies pay a minimum tax.”
Mr. Wyden authored the proposal with Sens. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Angus King, an independent from Maine.
The 15% flat rate would apply to companies that publicly report more than $1 billion in profits over three years. According to the lawmakers, the tax would hit the profits of more than 200 U.S. companies. It is estimated to raise $300 to $400 billion over the next decade.
Although the proposal has yet to garner the backing of Democratic leaders, it has been endorsed by at least one key supporter: Sen Kyrsten Sinema. The Arizona Democrat is seen as a key swing vote for the spending bill within the evenly split Senate.
“This proposal represents a commonsense step toward ensuring that highly profitable corporations — which sometimes can avoid the current corporate tax rate — pay a reasonable minimum corporate tax on their profits, just as everyday Arizonans and Arizona small businesses do,” said Ms. Sinema.
Given that Democrats plan to push the spending bill through the 50-50 Senate along party lines, Ms. Sinema’s support boosts the tax proposal’s overall chance of becoming law.
