Corporations, Millionaires and Billionaires Must Pay Their Fair Share
July 17, 2017
Corporations, Millionaires and Billionaires Must Pay Their Fair Share
Statement From Susan Harley, Deputy Director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division
Note: Monday marked the deadline for stakeholder submissions on tax reform requested by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, chaired by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Public Citizen submitted comments (PDF) urging support for a tax reform package that benefits average Americans and Main Street businesses, not the wealthy elite and multinational corporations.
The voting public understands that the tax code is rigged to benefit the richest of the rich and allows some extremely profitable corporations to pay zero taxes while everyday Americans pick up the tab. Recent proposals from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress would worsen these inequities by slashing corporate rates and eliminating taxes on the wealthiest individuals – policies that are opposed by the majority of Americans.
More than 9,000 Public Citizen members and supporters from around the country signed on to a statement (PDF) demanding that not one penny be spent on tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires or wealthy individuals. These Americans want the committee to focus on reforms that close tax loopholes, like the tax deduction for multimillion-dollar CEO bonuses; institute new revenue sources like a financial transaction tax; and require corporations to pay the $750 billion in taxes they already owe on the $2.6 trillion dollars they have booked overseas.
American corporations are reporting record profits while dodging taxes at outrageous levels. The Senate Finance Committee must keep the interests of the American people and Main Street businesses at heart. That’s the real recipe for a strong and prosperous economy.
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