John,

When the wealthy and corporations don’t pay their fair share in taxes, it’s more than just a matter of economic justice―it also impacts our ability to invest in critical programs and services for low-income families and vulnerable communities.

Now, a new report from our allies at Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies finds that 35 large profitable corporations paid their 5 top executives more in executive compensation than they paid in federal income taxes over a recent 5 year period.¹ This includes Tesla, T-Mobile, Netflix, MetLife, and Duke Energy―who, combined with the other 30 corporations, received $2 billion in tax refunds while paying outrageously large salaries to executives instead of passing profits and tax savings along to workers.

Thankfully, there are solutions that can fix our broken tax code and start making big corporations pay a bigger share of their profits in taxes than in excessive salaries for their top brass:

• By raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, we would generate $1.3 trillion in new revenue over the next decade that could be used to lower costs for low-income families on everything from health care to housing to food.

• By raising the stock buyback tax from 1% to 4%, we’d not only discourage corporations from manipulating stock prices to further enrich shareholders and CEOs instead of investing those profits back into worker pay, we’d generate $20 billion in tax revenue this year alone.

• By passing the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act, we could end tax breaks that encourage corporations to shift jobs and profits offshore, ensure corporations pay the same tax rate on their foreign profits as they pay on their domestic earnings, and stop U.S. corporations from merging with smaller, foreign corporations to dodge taxes.

Add your name and tell Congress to pass critical policy solutions that end rampant corporate tax dodging and that rein in excessive executive pay―because when they do, we can invest in people and communities who are most in need.

While we’re demanding policies that put everyday people first, congressional Republicans continue to demand a “fiscal commission” to cut critical programs and services from Medicaid to SNAP to housing and more. Speaker Johnson even said last week that the fiscal commission will NOT raise taxes on the rich―meaning this fiscal commission is really a “cuts commission.”²

If congressional Republicans were serious about addressing our nation’s debt, the fiscally responsible solution is making the rich and corporations pay their fair share. And, President Biden’s budget provides us with a roadmap to do just that.

The president’s 2025 budget would raise $5.3 trillion in revenue over 10 years by increasing taxes on the rich and large profitable corporations.³ He’d use this revenue to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit to dramatically reduce child poverty, provide free pre-K for 2 million kids, extend health coverage for millions of poor people living in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs, implement a 12 week paid family and medical leave program, create free community college across the country, increase access to affordable housing, and much, much more.

All told, the President’s budget would invest $2.3 trillion to support and expand critical programs and services while using the nearly $3 trillion remaining to lower the national debt.

Add your name and tell Congress to act to pass critical policy solutions that end rampant corporate tax dodging and that rein in excessive executive pay.

When the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, we can invest in a future that includes all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Thank you for taking action today,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ More for Them, Less for Us
² https://twitter.com/elwasson/status/1770790353370505732
³ President’s Budget