Former Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp Paid to Reverse Her Position on Capital Gains
While speaking on national television four months ago, Heidi Heidkamp, former senator from North Dakota and a Democrat, criticized the “stepped up basis rule” allowing people like Jeff Bezos to avoid paying taxes on their real income. Today she is paid to promote the opposite view and lobbies against Biden’s proposal to repeal that unfair tax loophole for the wealthy. Read more.
Group of House Democrats Say International Tax Negotiations Justify Inaction by Congress
President Biden proposes to lift the corporate tax rate to 28 percent and to ensure that offshore profits of corporations are taxed at a rate of at least 21 percent. Corporations would no longer benefit from using accounting gimmicks to claim their profits are earned in offshore tax havens where they will not be taxed. International negotiations at the OECD and G-20 are moving towards a global agreement to tax offshore profits at a rate of at least 15 percent, which would make Biden’s proposal work even better because it would reduce the gap the rate imposed by the U.S. and the rates imposed by other countries. However, some House Democrats make a convoluted argument that the international negotiations are a reason for Congress to do nothing. Read more.
Some Congressional Democrats More Focused on Cutting Taxes for the Rich by Repealing the SALT Cap
While Congressional Democrats remain divided over raising revenue, a vocal group of the caucus demands the repeal of the one provision in the Trump tax law that restricts tax breaks for the rich. The combination of their desire to repeal the SALT cap and their apparent unwillingness to raise taxes creates a dynamic where the richest Americans could end up paying less than they pay now under the forthcoming legislation. Read more.
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