Corporate Tax Increases are Good Policy, Good for the Economy

Washington, DC – Today, Groundwork Collaborative, Center for American Progress, Economic Policy Institute, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and the Roosevelt Institute released the following statement on the revenue proposals in the newly announced American Jobs Plan:

“We welcome today’s announcement that the American Jobs Plan (AJP) will increase the corporate tax rate, reduce tax incentives for offshoring, crack down on the games that multinational corporations play to avoid paying tax, and begin to reverse the devastating underfunding of the IRS that has allowed corporations and the wealthy to dodge taxes with impunity. 

“The spending ambitions of the AJP are rightly the main focus of much of today’s conversation.  However, increasing corporate taxes — one of the most progressive parts of the tax code, with profound effects on inequality and economic activity — is an important step in itself. 

“Robust taxation of corporations and the wealthy can directly counter damaging inequality, rebalance power in our economy, and increase the competitiveness of American workers. The pandemic recession makes raising corporate taxes even more urgent, as powerful corporations reap enormous windfalls and workers, families, and small businesses struggle. The corporate tax provisions of the American Jobs Plan are a strong first step.

“We cannot afford to settle for a simple return to the economic circumstances of January 2020 — we must truly build back better, to create an equitable, prosperous future for American families and workers and avoid the catastrophic consequences of unchecked climate change. This will require big, bold investment, scaled to meet the needs of our economy, not an arbitrary deficit target or list of payfors. It will also require a tax code that fights inequality and supports shared prosperity.”

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