Biden Wants to Be No. 1—in Taxes

Will the U.S. leapfrog the OECD in individual and corporate rates?

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"Corporate taxes are at the heart of international competition, and the Biden hike would reverse U.S. progress in a global tax-cut trend. Taxes on corporate income have declined world-wide since 1980, and Congress’s 2017 tax reform was intended to make U.S. rates competitive again.

U.S. companies had kept earnings overseas, rather than pay punitive tax rates to bring them back home. Lowering the rate prompted an immediate change. In each of the first two years after the top federal rate was slashed to 21%, U.S. companies repatriated $470 billion more than the average from 2010 to 2017, according to the Brookings Institution."

"Mr. Biden is also still claiming that “nobody making less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.” Not true. Corporate taxes are paid by workers, shareholders and consumers of all incomes. Reductions in the after-tax return on capital will reduce the value of companies, which will be reflected in lower 401(k) and retirement account balances for all workers.

The Tax Foundation adds that the tax increases would reduce the size of the economy over time by 0.5%, which is also real money for all Americans. A tax increase that returns the U.S. to the top of the global tax tables should be called the China Empowerment Act."