John,

Billion-dollar corporations have spent the last year lobbying Congress to extend three major Trump-GOP tax breaks before the end of the year. Now, the House and Senate have announced that they have an agreement on a framework for a lame-duck budget bill.[1] They are still negotiating over the details on taxes and many other matters.

That means we have about a week left to make our voices heard: We want Congress to OPPOSE tax cuts for corporations and to SUPPORT expanding the Child Tax Credit, which puts money in the pockets of millions of low-income families so they are lifted out of poverty.

Already, we’ve sent over 180,000 letters to Congress telling them to reject these corporate tax cuts, which could cost up to $600 billion over the next ten years.[2] They would give billions in handouts to corporations that make extraordinary profits and have paid extraordinarily low tax rates since 2018— Amazon (5.1% tax rate), FedEx (1.5%) Bank of America (3.8%), Disney (7.7%) and Verizon (8.4%).[3]

Some of the biggest winners would be private equity tycoons, as explained in a new analysis from ATF.[4] Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) slammed their lobbying efforts, saying, “Private equity companies have been driving up rents and crushing entire industries, and now their hordes of lobbyists are pushing for massive tax breaks to line their pockets even more.”

We’ve also joined our allies in the fight to expand the Child Tax Credit. We could provide at least four years of an expanded Child Tax Credit, which lifted 2 million kids out of poverty last year, for the $600 billion cost of the corporate tax breaks we’re trying to stop.[5]  

Additionally, we’ve sent about 25,000 letters to Congress demanding that they oppose retirement savings legislation that provides tax subsidies that will mostly help the wealthy fatten their already swollen retirement accounts. It will do little to help low- and middle-income families prepare for retirement, and it will worsen the racial wealth gap.[6]

Tell Congress: OPPOSE tax cuts for corporations and tax subsidies for the rich. SUPPORT expanding the Child Tax Credit, which puts money in the pockets of millions of low-income families so they are lifted out of poverty. Add your name to demand that Congress puts kids over corporations in the lame-duck session.

This is our last chance for a big win before the balance of power shifts in the House of Representatives in 2023. It will be much harder to make the tax code fairer once Republicans have control of the House.

It’s been a good year for tax fairness so far. This summer, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes billion-dollar corporations pay more of their fair share in taxes to help lower costs for families and fight the climate crisis. Giving these same corporations massive tax breaks in the lame duck would undo all the progress we made in the Inflation Reduction Act.

It’s time that Congress stood up to corporate special interests looking for tax handouts, and fought for the working families who have struggled the most through the pandemic and rising costs from inflation.

Join Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund in demanding Congress stand up to corporate lobbyists and OPPOSE any corporate tax cuts in end-of-year legislation and retirement security legislation that mostly subsidizes the rich. Add your name now!

Thank you for taking this action. We can’t give up the fight in the last week of this Congress!

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “DeLauro Statement on Appropriations Framework,” House Committee on Appropriations, Dec. 14, 2022.
[2] “60 National Groups Oppose Corporate Tax Breaks in Year-End Budget Deal,” letter organized by Americans for Tax Fairness, Dec. 6, 2022
[3] “Twenty-Three Corporations Saved $50 Billion So Far Under Trump Tax Law’s “Bonus Depreciation” that Many Lawmakers Want to Extend,” Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Nov. 2022.
[4] “Congress Must not Give Private Equity Billionaires a Huge Tax Cut in End-of-Year Budget Deal,” Americans for Tax Fairness, Dec. 14, 2022
[5] “Democratic lawmakers make last-ditch effort to enhance child tax credit,” CNN, Dec. 11, 2022
[6] Americans for Tax Fairness letter to the U.S. Senate Opposing EARN Legislation, June 21, 2022