Senate Democrats propose corporate minimum tax for spending package

Key senators on Tuesday released legislative text of a proposal for a minimum tax on corporate profits, which they are eyeing as a way to help pay for Democrats’ social-spending package.

The proposal would create a 15 percent minimum tax on corporate profits as reported on financial statements. It would apply to about 200 companies with more than $1 billion in profits, according to a fact sheet from the senators.

The proposal is aimed at preventing large corporations from paying zero in federal income taxes. According to the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, at least 55 large U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes in 2020, including FedEx and Nike.

“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,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement. “Our proposal would tackle the most egregious corporate tax dodging by ensuring the biggest companies pay a minimum tax.”

Wyden released the proposal along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Angus King (I-Maine), who introduced a bill on this topic in August.

The fact sheet states that the value of business credits such as those for research and development and clean energy would be preserved, and businesses would be able to take foreign tax credits.

The corporate minimum tax is one of several proposals that Democrats are considering for the social-spending package in light of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) objections to raising tax rates. Wyden is expected to release a second tax proposal, to tax billionaires’ investment gains annually, later on Tuesday.

Sinema responded to the proposal, saying she backed the move on Twitter.

“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,” Sinema tweeted.

Statement on Proposed Corporate Minimum Tax pic.twitter.com/tRLMDXLgot

— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) October 26, 2021

The senators who offered the minimum tax proposal say it could raise hundreds of billions of dollars over a decade.

Wyden and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) discussed the corporate minimum tax proposal during Senate Democrats’ lunch on Tuesday and it received significant support, according to a Democrat in attendance.

The release of the proposal comes as Democrats are hoping to reach an agreement on a framework for their social-spending bill this week. 

Warren previously proposed a version of the minimum tax proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign, and President Biden also has expressed support for this idea.

“I’m glad to have worked alongside Senator King and Chair Wyden, with the support of President Biden, to announce this proposal so that we can raise essential revenue needed to invest in families and our economy,” Warren said.

Jordain Carney contributed.

–Updated at 5:10 p.m.