Biden's Proposed Corporate Tax Hike Will Punish the Average American


The president wants to raise the rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, despite it being well-established that this is the most economically-destructive method to raise government funds.

Veronique de Rugy3.14.2024
In the latest volley of policy proposals that seem more rooted in populist rhetoric than economic knowledge, President Joe Biden's budget plan to hike the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent strikes me as particularly misguided. This move, ostensibly aimed at ensuring a "fair share" of contributions from corporate America, is a glaring testament to a simplistic and all-too-common type of economic thinking that already hamstrings our nation's competitiveness, stifles innovation, and ultimately penalizes the average American worker and consumer.

Beyond the president's class warfare rhetoric, the lure of putting his hands on more revenue is one of the factors behind the proposal. Biden likes to pretend he is some sort of deficit cutter, but his administration is the mother of all big spenders. He's seeking $7.3 trillion for next year without acknowledging the insolvency of Social Security coming our way or addressing what happens when Congress makes the Republican tax cut permanent in 2025 for people earning less than $400,000 a year.

Unfortunately, no fiscally irresponsible budget is complete without soothing individual taxpayers by promising to tax corporations. Never mind that the burden of corporate income tax hikes isn't shouldered by corporations. Yes, corporations do write the checks to the IRS, but the economic weight will be partially or fully shifted to others, such as workers through lower wages, consumers through higher prices, or shareholders through lower returns on investment. That means that many taxpayers making less than that $400,000 will be shouldering the cost of the corporate tax hike.

It is worth expanding on the fact that much of a corporate tax increase will be shouldered specifically by workers. A recent Tax Foundation article, for instance, explained that "a study of corporate taxes in Germany found that workers bear about half of the tax burden in the form of lower wages, with low-sk**led, young, and female employees disproportionately harmed."

Biden's planned tax hike would raise revenue for sure. Kyle Pomerleau at the American Enterprise Institute told me that it would raise roughly $1 trillion over a decade. However, it will do it in the most damaging way possible.

Indeed, it is well-established by the economic literature that increasing corporate taxes is the most economically-destructive method due to its impact on incentives to invest. Investments that were previously feasible at the lowest rate of capital are now out of reach. Firms forgo machinery, factories, and other equipment, reducing their capital stock. That in turn reduces productivity, output, and overtime wages.

The good news is that the reverse is also true. That's what the Republicans did in 2017 when they cut the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent while broadening the tax base. Chris Edwards at the Cato Institute recently noted that the move increased investments and wages as one would hope—and it also managed to boost federal corporate tax collections from $297 billion in 2017 to a projected $569 billion in 2024.

While this spike was attributed to temporary factors—the revenue is anticipated to decrease to $494 billion in 2025—it also reduced tax avoidance from firms who repatriated much of the revenue they used to keep abroad. Instead of avoiding higher tax rates, they invested more in America and boosted wages along the way.

In addition, for all the concerns about fairness expressed by the administration to justify its tax hike, the corporate tax is quite unfair. Profits are already subject to taxation at the individual level when distributed as dividends or realized as capital gains. Increasing the corporate tax rate will exacerbate the issue of double taxation, distorting investment decisions and reducing economic efficiency, not to mention encouraging aggressive planning for more tax avoidance.

Last, the administration's plan ignores one of its usual priorities: the fact that many U.S. companies must compete on the international stage. Raising the corporate income tax at home makes them less competitive abroad. According to the Cato Institute's Adam Michel, if Biden is successful in raising the corporate income tax to 28 percent, the U.S. would have the second-highest such rate among the market-oriented democracies that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. America would instantly become less attractive for multinational corporations and mobile capital.

In an era where economic literacy should guide policymaking, reverting to such tax hikes is a step backward—a misstep we can ill afford amid the delicate dance of post-p******c recovery and an increasingly competitive global economy.

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Biden's proposed corporate tax hike will punish the average American
reason.com

Here are 3 t***hs:

1. I never worn a mask anywhere (except the doctor) and washed my hands semi-frequently and never used hand sanitizer anytime during the p******c. I STILL don't.

2. I've had no C***D v*****es and don't plan to.

3. I have been exposed to C***D many times and I have not EVER had C***D and have never even been sick over the last 4 years.

Either science is f**e or I have a super duper i****e s****m.

None of your "facts" support any definitive conclusion.

Should any government have the right to legislate morality according to their religion?

Muslim girls are still being subjected to "honor deaths" in Muslim countries and even in countries like the UK where their families have relocated. Their fathers, uncles and brothers believe things such as marrying a non-Muslim or just showing their bare face in a TikTok video shames the family so badly they need to put these girls to death.

Does anyone condone the beatings and k*****gs that have occurred here in the US to young gay men simply because they are gay? (I hope not!)

There is almost nothing new under the sun and you can be sure that includes a******ns and homosexuality.

"Vengeance is mine" says the Lord. It's up to each man and woman to make their own peace with God, and God will not force them. He INVITES.

Around 20 years ago the common observation in the independent media was the existence of the "false left/right paradigm." The idea that Democrats and Republicans were essentially the same and were working toward the same authoritarian goals. This was before the Ron Paul movement and the libertarian/patriot shift within conservative circles when Neocons (f**e conservatives) dominated all Republican discourse.

In the two decades since, there has been a dramatic return to true conservative and constitutional principles, even among several politicians in the party. Conservative ideals were on the verge of death in the early 2000s, but thanks to Ron Paul and others there has been a resurgence. The false left/right paradigm still applies to certain GOP leaders, but those people have been exposed and are quickly losing public support.

Decades ago, conservatives used to clamor to defend people like Lindsay Graham or Mitt Romney, now they despise such frauds. Times are changing; this is a fact, and we need to acknowledge the positive move forward.

The guidelines are relatively easy to understand. Conservatives and liberty activists support a return to constitutional governance, the protection of the Bill of Rights, free markets, meritocracy, the right to choose associations, t***h in media, secure borders, the protection of children from exploitation, keeping America out of foreign entanglements, moral and accountable leadership, etc. The degree to which leaders can adhere to these parameters determines how much trust they earn, and trust is the only currency that matters these days.

Democrats (and l*****ts in general), on the other hand, have gone in the complete opposite direction. If there was ever a time when the average l*****t and conservative could find common ground, that time is long gone. Many l*****ts used to be pro-individual rights; today they argue incessantly against personal liberty as if it's dangerous to society. They used to be anti-war; now they froth at the mouth over countries like Russia and press for WWIII without any rational thought. Their methods have become violent, vicious, egregious in execution as they adopt an "ends justify the means" approach.

The political left does not care about what is right. They do not care about what is true. They only care about "winning."

It is the l*****t infatuation with the dark side that is driving the U.S. to the edge of civil war. Would a candidate like Trump be taken as seriously under normal political conditions? It's hard to say. He wasn't taken very seriously in 2012. However, when Democrats started to go full-bore authoritarian suddenly Trump became very appealing to conservative v**ers.

Why? Because he represents a big middle finger to the c*******ts, a bull in the china shop. If you want to piss off authoritarian Democrats trying to control what you say and what you think, you put Trump in their faces for another four years. Does this fix our underlying national problems? No, not in the slightest. In fact, I still believe Trump distracts patriots from what really needs to be done. I'm convinced that, at this stage, only war will resolve the issue. V****g for Trump is a good way to enrage the woke cry-bullies, and I wouldn't fault anyone for wanting that, but any real return to honor and order would have to be implemented by the public, not the government.

The deeper problem is one of unavoidable cultural division – Conservatives and patriots cannot live side-by-side with rabid l*****ts, nor can we accept a l*****t-controlled government. They have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they intend to destroy every aspect of Western culture and institute a regime of oppression.

So much has happened recently that I fear many Americans will become overwhelmed and forget the many recent trespasses of l*****ts. Here are just a handful of examples of the worst authoritarian crimes committed by Democrats in the past four years alone...

Weaponizing The Legal System Using Selective Prosecution
When Democrats talk about "equity" in criminal justice, what they are referring to is the unbalanced application of law depending on the ethnicity or political beliefs of the people being charged. The most blatant example is the kangaroo court for the J*** 6 event and their attempt to lock up conservative protesters as "i**********nists." Not a single death occurred due to protesters, property damage was minimal and c*****l p****e incited the r**t by firing rubber bullets and CS gas into the otherwise peaceful crowd. Yet, the protesters were painted by Dems and the media as monsters trying to "disrupt democracy."

Compare this to the Democrat response to the B*M and A****a r**ts across the U.S. since 2016 in which dozens were k**led, thousands of police injured, billions in property damage and multiple government buildings attacked. These people tried to hold the country hostage, yet, the vast majority of those who were actually arrested were released and never charged by Democrat District Attorneys and prosecutors. The media even portrayed them as heroes. If J*** 6 had been a far-left protest, there would have been no commission, and no one would be in jail for 10-20 years today.

There are numerous examples of selective prosecution targeting patriots and the message is clear, "If you defy us in any way, we have no problem misusing the legal system to crush you."

P******c Hysteria And Medical Tyranny
Did some Republicans initially support the C***D lockdowns? Yes. When it became clear that c***d was a non-threat did they end the lockdowns in their own states? Yes. Half the states in the U.S. (all red states) blocked attempts to continue the p******c lockdowns. These same states also passed legislation to disrupt any future attempts at lockdowns or v*****e passports. And all the governors and legislators involved were accused by Democrats and the media of "k*****g Americans" because they defended freedom.

In reality, these states and conservatives across the country defeated a draconian agenda that almost brought the U.S. to the brink of full-spectrum medical tyranny. Democrats and g*******ts tried to use C****-** as an opportunity to institute sweeping anti-liberty mandates without checks and balances. Some of the rules they wanted to put in place included:

• Forced v******tion.
• No employment for the unv******ted.
• No access to public spaces for the unv******ted.
• No access to normal medical treatment for the unv******ted.
• House arrest for the unv******ted.
• Fines for the unv******ted.
• Jail time for people speaking against the mandates or v*****es.
• Government tracking of the unv******ted.
• Taking children away from the unv******ted.
• Secret v******tion of children at public schools without knowledge of parents.
• Mass online censorship of anyone presenting information contrary to the government C***D narrative.

Some Democrats even threatened to go "door-to-door" to force v******te individuals, though the official position was that they would instead seek to "make life so hard for the unv******ted" that anyone in refusal would eventually be forced to comply. Luckily their plans failed, but we must never forget what happened.

The true nature of the political left was exposed from 2020-2023, and the difference between conservatives and l*****ts was made undeniably clear. Red states were made free. Blue states tried to keep authoritarianism in place. Democrats embraced medical tyranny, conservatives did not.

Targeting Children For Indoctrination And Exploitation
There is no surer sign of authoritarianism than a group that recruits children as foot soldiers using political indoctrination. Democrats and the woke movement have taken the mask off completely when it comes to America's youth. The widespread use of woke symbols such as p***e f**gs in public schools and libraries. The use of d**g q***n performances (often sexual) as a means to normalize baseless g****r fluid theories, mental illness and sexual aberration. State government funding of sexualized content including lessons and books for young kids. The list goes on and on.

I can't think of anything more insidious and evil than the l*****t attempt to hijack American children as a weapon for their political c**p. And make no mistake, the woke movement is not a movement for e******y, it's a c*******t and collectivist insurgency. They see children as tools, not as people.

Democrats are going so far as to pass laws allowing children to engage in s*x c****e procedures including hormone blockers and surgeries without parental consent. This is a monstrous policy that needs to be snuffed out immediately. Children are not capable of consent.

Again, all this is being done in the name of winning. What is moral or ethical never crosses the l*****t mind.

Mass Censorship And The Demonization Of "Radical Speech"
Who nominated the Democrats to become the arbiters of acceptable belief and speech? Well, they nominated themselves, and the protections of the 1st Amendment are being quietly degraded every day we allow them to continue acting as if they are the thought police.

The new term being thrown around in 2024 is "radical speech," meaning any speech that runs contrary to "diversity, equity and inclusion" requirements, or any speech that contradicts the preeminence of the official narrative. Understand that "radical speech" is often an arbitrary label. One has to consider what the legitimate consequences are and what the intent is.

For a Democrat, any speech that is detrimental to their goal of extorting public support for their policies suddenly becomes "radical." The label is designed to elicit images of terrorism and f*****m as if mere words are magical and can compel the public to do great evil without them realizing it. This is a childish fantasy based on projection. It's l*****ts (who are collectivists) who believe words have magical powers, and so they put great emphasis on controlling speech in general.

I would agree only with the fact that lies do have the power to evoke emotional responses, but the only way to combat lies is with the t***h. Anyone who says that the way to combat lies is to use mass censorship is a liar. Democrats rely heavily on mass censorship, as we have seen with nearly every Big Tech social media platform and corporate news platform.

The bottom line is this, when someone tells you exactly who they are, believe them. When a group of people show through a host of actions that they are authoritarians, they should not be allowed anywhere near power. It's time to rethink our ongoing political relationship here in America and consider whether or not we should continue to live with a party that has made it so abundantly clear that they are hostile to freedom.