The White House on Monday pounced on reports that Republicans in Congress are preparing to extend tax cuts from the first Trump administration and slash corporate tax rates if Republicans win control of the White House and Congress in November.
In a memo from Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates, the White House said: Washington Post report Republican lawmakers and some of Trump’s advisers have said they are considering additional corporate tax cuts if the party takes power next year.
“Today’s Washington Post article makes it impossible to ignore the stark differences between President Biden’s rebuilding the middle class agenda and MAGAnomics,” Bates wrote in the memo.
“Republican officials who support MAGAnomics support price gouging, tax cuts for the wealthy, and flat tariffs that will raise prices while they betray the middle class with soaring budget deficits and cuts to Medicare and Social Security,” he added.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in 2017, reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and also reduced the personal tax rate. The personal tax cuts expire in 2025, but the corporate tax rate was reduced permanently under the act.
Republicans are preparing to fast-track an extension of the Trump tax cuts through the reconciliation process, lawmakers told The Hill, as Republicans argue that lowering corporate tax rates would make U.S. companies more competitive globally.
While most bills require the support of 60 senators to avoid a filibuster, budget reconciliation allows lawmakers to pass major tax and spending bills with a simple majority, even without bipartisan support.
The White House cited warnings from economists that an expansion of the corporate tax cut, combined with Trump’s other proposals, such as imposing tariffs on all imports into the U.S., could lead to a spike in inflation and further increase the national debt.
President Biden has touted his economic policies, which have resulted in falling unemployment and a slow but steady decline in inflation from its 2022 peak. But polls show voters remain frustrated by rising prices and still trust former President Trump on economic issues.
May poll ABC News/Ipsos The survey found that 85% of respondents said inflation was an important issue to them, making it the second-highest priority after the economy in general. On both inflation and the economy, respondents said they had 14 points more confidence in Biden than in Trump.
