Senate Democrats have assembled a laundry list of possible tax hikes to help finance their $3.5 trillion spending bonanza, according to an internal committee document obtained by The Post.
Many Democrats are eager to implement the host of corporate and individual tax hikes to fund the $3.5 trillion plan, but Beltway insiders are dubious the more controversial plans — like taxing share buybacks and hefty executive payouts — will make the final bill.
The plans are in their early stages, still being hammered out by Democratic lawmakers, but they include:
- Raising the top corporate tax rate “from 21 percent to a higher rate.” The document doesn’t list a specific rate, but President Joe Biden has previously called for corporate taxes to be raised to 28 percent.
- Taxing stock buybacks, one of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s pet projects. When a company buys back its stock, it often gooses the stock price as it takes shares out of circulation. The proposal could apply an “excise tax” to companies that buy back a significant amount of stock. Alternatively, buybacks could be treated as a certain type of dividend to shareholders, according to the document.
- Imposing a “CEO pay disparity” excise tax on companies whose chief executives make more than a certain percentage of the average worker’s pay.
- Reinstating the 39.6 percent top personal income tax rate to replace the 37 percent rate that is in effect now.
- Taxing capital gains at the top individual tax rate for “high-income taxpayers,” which the document defines as people in the top tax bracket.
- Establishing a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent of a corporation’s “book income” — even after including certain deductions.
The tax hikes on the table would fund the $3.5 trillion plan, which would include universal prekindergarten, broadened Medicare benefits, free community college and what Democrats say are measures to deal with climate change.
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