The engine of the corporate tax system is sputtering, and Democrats are trying to fix it with a Band-Aid instead of a wrench. They’re proposing a corporate minimum tax, which they call the “ Amazon tax,” targeting U.S. companies that pay little or no taxes despite reporting billions in profits each year to shareholders.
The Democrats’ proposed 15% levy on the world-wide financial-accounting earnings of large, highly profitable companies may sound familiar. It was originally proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren during her bid for president. Democrats are pushing this tax again now, hoping it will encourage passage of a $1.85 trillion reconciliation bill to fund President Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
