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Dear John,
Corporations and the ultra-rich have received trillions of dollars in tax breaks since Republicans in Congress forced through the Trump Tax Scam in 2017.
A brand new report by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, titled “More for Them, Less for Us,” reveals some very disturbing patterns. Over the past five years, many corporations have paid their top five executives more than what they paid in federal income taxes.
It may not surprise you to hear that given a choice between increasing the pay of their wealthy top executives or reinvesting in their workforce and consumers, many corporations opted to further line their executives’ pockets.
The study looks at 36 large, high-profit corporations, including Tesla, T-Mobile, Netflix, MetLife, and Duke Energy. Collectively, these corporations received tax refunds totaling $2 billion, with much of this windfall going directly to their top executives.
Excessive executive pay is a critical driver of economic inequality and it’s vital that elected leaders work to rein it in. Tell Congress to pass new policies that tax corporations and CEO pay now.
There are currently several proposals for fixing the tax code to ensure that corporations contribute their fair share.
President Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which would bring in an additional $1.3 trillion over the next decade that can be invested in crucial programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
Stock buybacks, which primarily benefit wealthy shareholders, are another important piece of the puzzle. President Biden has proposed increasing the stock buyback tax from 1% to 4%, which would bring in an additional $20 billion in just one year.
Amazingly, the Trump Republican Tax Scam actually gave tax breaks to companies that moved their operations overseas. Fortunately, the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act, introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Lloyd Doggett, would promote domestic investment and prevent larger corporations from merging with smaller foreign companies to avoid taxes.
These reforms and several others proposed by democrats work to unrig our rigged economic system, so that working people and families get their fair share, while corporations and the ultra-rich finally contribute their fair share.
Join us in urging Congress to prioritize the interests of ordinary Americans over excessive CEO pay and corporate greed by signing on now.
Thank you for working to build a more equitable economy for all!
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
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