DNC National Press Secretary Emilia Rowland released the following statement after Trump promised CEOs another corporate tax cut:

“Trump is once again putting his wealthiest donors and billionaire buddies above everyone else by promising yet another handout to the biggest corporations on the backs of hardworking American families – as if the 14% giveaway in his 2017 tax scam wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, President Biden has spent his first term fighting to reverse Trump’s disastrous tax scam so that no teacher, firefighter, nurse, or doctor is forced to pay higher tax rates than billionaires. Trump’s latest pledge to reward ultra-wealthy corporations makes clear just how high the stakes are for working Americans in our fight to reelect President Biden and Democratic majorities in Congress so we can continue cutting costs for hardworking families and block MAGA Republicans’ plan to force taxpayers to foot the bill for another handout to Big Oil and Pharma.”

During discussions with CEOs last week, Trump made another promise to cut the corporate tax rate.

New York Times: “Former President Donald J. Trump told a group of America’s most powerful chief executives on Thursday that he intended to cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 21 percent, according to three people who attended the meeting and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the ground rules stipulated the meeting was off the record.” […] 

“Specifically, Mr. Trump is said to have told them that he wanted to further lower the corporate rate to 20 percent, which he said he liked because it’s a “round number” and because he thought doing so would make American companies more competitive and create jobs, according to the people in attendance.”

Trump’s proposed tax scam would include some of the following rewards for already-wealthy corporations instead of uplifting hardworking Americans:

Center for American Progress: 

• “Give the largest 100 U.S. companies (the Fortune 100) a total estimated annual tax cut of $48 billion. They reported $1.1 trillion in profits in their last annual report.” […]

• “Give the five largest drug makers—Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, AbbVie, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb—an annual total estimated tax cut of $3.1 billion, while gutting President Biden’s landmark victory in the Inflation Reduction Act that requires drug manufacturers to negotiate prices to bring down costs for consumers. They reported over $50 billion in profits.

• “Give five of the largest Wall Street banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs—an annual total estimated tax cut of $4.1 billion. They reported nearly $113 billion in profits.

• “Give five of the largest grocery companies—Kroger, Costco, Albertsons, Target, and Walmart—an annual total estimated tax cut of nearly $1.7 billion. They reported over $29 billion in profits.”

Last week’s promises to CEOs are not the first time Trump has doubled down on his promise to make permanent and extend his disastrous MAGAnomics tax giveaways for the ultra-wealthy.

Trump: “I will never let the Trump tax cuts … I will never let them be taken away.”

Trump: “You’re all people that have a lot of money … You’re rich as hell. … We’re gonna give you tax cuts.”

Trump: “We will replace Biden’s tax hikes with the beautiful Trump tax cuts. You know, we have to extend the tax cuts.”

Trump on whether his second term tax policies would echo those of his first term: “Yes, and I’d do even more taxes.”

Bloomberg: “[Trump] intends to center his economic plans on extending and deepening the Republican tax cuts from 2017.”

Vanity Fair: “Donald Trump Wants to Give His Favorite Corporations Another Giant Tax Cut in a Second Term: Report”

Trump’s 2017 MAGAnomics tax scam was a boon for corporations and the ultra-wealthy that left the middle class behind.

ITEP: “55 Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes on 2020 Profits”

New York Times: “How Big Companies Won New Tax Breaks From the Trump Administration”

Forbes: “Trump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes Than The Working Class In 2018”

CBS News: “Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind”

The Guardian: “Donald Trump’s $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history.”

Economic Policy Institute: “The TCJA overwhelmingly benefited the rich and corporations while overlooking working families”

ProPublica: “In the first year after Trump signed the legislation, just 82 ultrawealthy households collectively walked away with more than $1 billion in total savings, an analysis of confidential tax records shows.”

NPR: “More than 60% of the tax savings went to people in the top 20% of the income ladder, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The measure also slashed the corporate tax rate by 40%.”

President Biden wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, which would raise $1.1 trillion over 10 years to reinvest in the American people and help reduce the deficit.

Center for American Progress: “President Joe Biden, by contrast, would raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent—halfway between the current 21 percent rate and the previous 35 percent rate. This would raise $1.1 trillion over 10 years to help pay for investments in the American people and reduce the deficit.”

Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025: “Ensures Corporations Pay Their Fair Share”

“The Budget increases the rates that corporations pay in taxes on their profits. Corporations received an enormous tax break in 2017, cutting effective U.S. tax rates for U.S. corporations to a low of less than 10 percent. While their profits soared, their investment in their workers and the economy did not. Their shareholders and top executives reaped the benefits, without the promised trickle down to workers, consumers, or communities. The Budget would set the corporate tax rate at 28 percent, still well below the 35 percent rate that prevailed prior to the 2017 tax law. In addition, the Budget would raise the Inflation Reduction Act’s corporate minimum tax rate on billion-dollar corporations from 15 percent to 21 percent, ensuring the biggest corporations pay more of their fair share.”