Former President Trump proposed further cuts to corporate tax rates at a business roundtable event on Thursday with some of the country’s most influential corporate executives, according to attendees.
Shortly after the former president’s presentation, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients also gave an interview before the CEOs. The Business Roundtable reported last week that President Biden had also been invited to attend, but he is currently in Italy for the Group of Seven summit.
Mr. Trump was interviewed by Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, and Mr. Zients was interviewed by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who ran the National Economic Council under the former president, according to a second person familiar with the meetings.
Trump’s signature tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, made a number of changes, including lowering the corporate tax rate to 21%. Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, told The Hill that Trump has said he wants to make all of the “Trump tax cuts” permanent and lower the corporate tax rate to 20%.
Miller also said Trump spoke at length about his proposal to exempt tips from taxes for the hospitality industry at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, which was well received.
A Business Roundtable spokesman declined to comment on the private, informal meeting.
As the November election approaches, Trump’s tax policies stand in stark contrast to those of Biden, who has called for higher taxes on billionaires and large corporations.
The Business Roundtable, a lobbying group representing business leaders, has more than 200 CEOs of the nation’s largest companies as members.
Notable attendees at the event included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, Procter & Gamble CEO John Mohler and Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins, according to sources.
President Trump’s appearance at the Business Roundtable was just one stop on his whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. He also met with members of Congress on Thursday, rallying Republicans around a unified message ahead of the 2024 elections in November.
Many provisions of President Trump’s tax reform bill are set to expire in 2025. There is no deadline for the corporate tax rates set in the bill, but the looming deadline provides an opportunity to decide whether to raise or lower tax rates.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) recently told The Hill that some Republicans are open to raising the corporate tax rate, but others, including Tax Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), argue that the corporate tax rate should be lowered further to attract more businesses and investment to the United States.
The Biden administration has argued that raising taxes on billionaires and big corporations would save the government trillions of dollars over the next decade. The tax hikes were included in the president’s budget request this year but were not acted on by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Another person familiar with the meeting told The Hill that during the interview, one CEO asked Zients how Biden thought a corporate tax increase could affect companies’ competitiveness.
Zients said the U.S. needs more revenue and a stable fiscal position, but the administration believes it can achieve that while maintaining domestic competitiveness and investment.
The US national debt is currently $34.7 trillionAfter topping $34 trillion for the first time in January, Treasury Department data showed it has fallen 1.5% in 2018. The Business Roundtable agreed that the fiscal situation needs to be addressed but opposed raising taxes on corporations to do so.
“The No. 1 thing policymakers should be thinking about is trying to improve their fiscal situation by raising corporate taxes, because without corporations, they’re what creates jobs, they’re what keeps America competitive, they’re what allows our economy to thrive, and you can’t improve your fiscal situation without them,” Mohler, who chairs the Business Roundtable’s tax and fiscal policy committee, said at a Business Roundtable event with reporters on Wednesday.
With help from Alex Gangitano and Julia Shapero.
