“Identity politics”, assuming (part of) the average voter’s identity is taxpayer…
NEW: @EWarren rolls out a new plan to impose a 7% tax on corporate profits above $100 million, “no loopholes or exemptions.”
It would raise $1 trillion in revenue over a decade, per two UC Berkeley economists.https://t.co/OsVzov4p8A
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 11, 2019
… Using a surtax, rather than raising the corporate rate, would allow the tax code to target larger, more profitable companies.
Warren said the tax code is “so littered with loopholes that simply raising the regular corporate tax rate alone is not enough” to combat the “armies of lawyers and accountants” that large businesses have to lower their tax bills. The tax code has an array of breaks for corporations to lower their liability — by, say, depreciating their buildings and machinery, deducting interest on debt and taking tax credits for research costs…
The 2017 Republican tax overhaul slashed the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. Democrats have criticized the overhaul for reducing the levy too much.
Warren’s tax plan would effectively increase that rate for many publicly traded companies on profits of more than $100 million to 28 percent, a rate that other prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, have backed.
Amazon has faced public criticism for using the U.S. tax code to get a refund for 2017 and 2018, even as it made hundreds of billions in revenue and about $10 billion in profits in 2018. The online retail giant gets both the benefits usually used by technology companies — deductions for paying employees in stock — as well as the write-offs for companies that rely heavily on building physical infrastructure…
The 2017 tax law also eliminated the corporate alternative minimum tax, a calculation that prohibited companies from taking too many tax breaks to reduce their liability. Warren’s plan would be a backstop for savvy corporations who are now able to use the full force of the tax law to cut down their tax bills…
Here's a list of some of the biggest profitable companies not paying federal taxes. In many cases, American taxpayers are subsidizing THEM. https://t.co/MQrwZ7wDIE pic.twitter.com/41K10MxQxA
— The Center for Public Integrity (@Publici) April 11, 2019
In response to my plan, Amazon says it "pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the US." Yeah, I know. You made more than $10 billion in profits last year and you were required to pay $0 in federal corporate taxes. That's the problem. https://t.co/FWajm72V9g
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 11, 2019
(Should’ve posted this earlier in the day, but at least the left-coast Amazon stans will be able to have their say… )
C.R.E.A.M. Open Thread: Senator Warren, Leading the Way AgainPost + Comments (56)