Dear Chairman Neal, Ranking Member Brady, and Members of the Ways and Means Committee:
As your committee begins marking up the $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and spend reconciliation proposal, we write in opposition to any effort to raise taxes on American families and businesses.
It is expected that the reconciliation legislation will include
countless tax increases totaling trillions of dollars. Some of
the tax increases that have been publicly floated include:
- Raising the corporate tax rate to 25 percent or 28 percent, a rate higher than Communist China
- Doubling the capital gains tax to 43.4 percent
- Raising the top rate to 39.6 percent
- Creating a second death tax by eliminating step-up-in basis
- 95 percent excise tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers if they fail to accept government set price controls
- Repealing the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income
- Raising taxes on carried interest capital gains
- Raising the tax rate on GILTI to a top rate of 26.25 percent and requiring it to be calculated on a country-by-country basis
- Imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on book income
- Retroactively capping the conservation easement deduction
- Repealing numerous oil and gas tax provisions including the deduction for intangible drilling costs (IDCs)
- A tax on American energy manufacturers based on their methane production
- A carbon border tax
- Capping Section 1031 like-kind exchanges
Supporters of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, like self avowed socialist Bernie Sanders claim that the tax increases will be paid by billionaires “who don’t pay a nickel in federal income taxes … (and) large corporations that make billions in profit, and in some years do not pay a penny in federal income taxes.”
This claim is false. Millions of small businesses will see higher taxes through the increase in the corporate tax and the top marginal income tax rate. In addition, the plan to repeal step-up in basis will raise taxes on family-owned businesses across the country.
Democrats have also floated retroactive tax increases on the American people. For instance, the Biden budget calls for retroactively increasing the capital gains tax. This is a terrible idea – retroactive tax policy changes the rules on taxpayers after the fact. It is fundamentally unfair and erodes confidence in the tax system.
Many of the tax hikes being pushed by the administration violate President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on any American earning less than $400,000 per year. A recent analysis by the left-of-center Tax Policy Center found that the tax hikes proposed in President Biden’s budget will raise taxes on 74.1 percent of middle income-quintile households in 2022. In addition, a report by the Joint Committee on Taxation found that over the long-term, approximately $100 billion of the corporate tax increase would be borne by taxpayers making less than $100,000.
Now is one of the worst times to raise taxes on American families and businesses. We are still over five million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. In addition, inflation is running rampant and increasing prices for families and businesses across the country.
Rather than pushing tax increases on American families and businesses, we urge you to push policies that promote economic growth so that the economy can recover and grow.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Ryan Ellis
President, Center for a Free Economy
David McIntosh
President, The Club for Growth
Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Brent Wm. Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity
Garrett Bess
Vice President, Heritage Action for America
Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks
Stephen Moore
Senior Economic Contributor, FreedomWorks
Governor Scott Walker, President
Young America’s Foundation
Tom Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Angela Logomasini
Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Marlo Lewis
Senior Fellow, Energy & Environmental Policy
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment
Competitive Enterprise Institute
David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Lisa B Nelson
CEO, ALEC Action
Daniel Schneider
Executive Director, American Conservative Union
Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President, 60 Plus Association
Jim Martin
Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Marty Connors
Co-Chairman, Alabama Center-Right Coalition Meeting
Alan Sears
Founder, Alliance Defending Freedom
Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action
Kelly Kullberg
American Association of Evangelicals
Dick Patten
President, American Business Defense Council
Thomas Pyle
President, American Energy Alliance
Kathleen Patten
President and CEO, American Target Advertising, Inc.
Gary L. Bauer
President, American Values
Dee Stewart
President, Americans for a Balanced Budget
The Honorable Jake Hoffman
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Brenda Barton
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Leo Biasiucci
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Walt Blackman
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Judy Burges
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Joseph Chaplik
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable John Fillmore
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Gail Griffin
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Justin Wilmeth
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable John Kavanaugh
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Becky Nutt
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Jacqueline Parker
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Kevin Payne
Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Beverly Pingerelli
Arizona House of Representatives
E.C. Sykes
General Partner, Aslan Ventures
Robert Alt
President and CEO, The Buckeye Institute
Lourdes Cosio
Campaign for the American Future
Ralph Benko
Chairman, The Capitalist League
Susan A. Carleson
President/CEO, Carleson Center for Welfare Reform
Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom
Ginevra Joyce-Myers
Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Free Enterprise
Shannon O. Royce, J.D.
President, Christian Employers Alliance
David Kullberg
Executive Director, Christians for a Sustainable Economy
David N. Bossie
President, Citizens United
Kay R. Daly
President, Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
Mr. John J. Park Jr
Conservative Activist
Karen Hartman
Conservative Activist/Paralegal
Morton Blackwell
Chairman, Conservative Leadership PAC
George K. Rasley Jr
Managing Editor, ConservativeHQ.com
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President, Republic Book Publishers
Ron Pearson
Executive Director, Conservative Victory Fund
James Edwards
Executive Director, Conservatives for Property Rights
Matthew Kandrach
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Charles J. Cooper
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
Guillermo J. Aragon
Senior Partner, Corbere Partners
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty
Steven J. Buri
President, Discovery Institute
Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman, Eagle Forum
Donna Rice Hughes
CEO/President, Enough Is Enough
Palmer Schoening
Chairman, Family Business Coalition
Annette Thompson Meeks
CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
George Landrith
President, Frontiers of Freedom
Victor Riches
President & CEO, Goldwater Institute
Andresen Blom
President, Hawaiian Values
Carrie Lukas
President, Independent Women’s Forum
Heather R. Higgins
CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
Andrew Langer
President, Institute for Liberty
Tom Giovanetti
President, Institute for Policy Innovation
Christopher Ingstad
President, Iowans for Tax Relief
Peggy Dau
Representative, Iran Alive Ministries
John Dodd
President Emeritus, Jesse Helms Center
Chairman, North Carolina Center-Right Coalition Meeting
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
President, Leadership Institute
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
Mrs. Kielle C. Horton
President, The Lindsey Foundation
Randy M Long
Founder, Long Business Advisors, LLC
Brett Healy
President, MacIver Institute
Gary Marx
President, Madison Strategies
Matthew Gagnon
Chief Executive Officer, Maine Policy Institute
Charles Sauer
President, Market Institute
Christina Murphy Lusk, Esq.
President, The Martin Foundation
Rod D. Martin
Founder and CEO, The Martin Organization, Inc.
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President, Media Research Center
Tim Jones
Chair, Missouri Center-Right Coalition
Fmr. Speaker, Missouri House
Joseph A. Morris
Partner, Morris & De La Rosa
Assistant U.S. Attorney General (President Reagan)
Justin Danhof
Executive Vice President, National Center for Public Policy Research
Shawn Mitchell
Former National Chaplain, National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Chuck Muth
Chairman, Nevada Center-Right Coalition Meeting
Melvin Adams
President, Noah Webster Educational Foundation
Kevin Freeman
Founder, NSIC Institute
Gerard Kassar
State Chairman, NYS Conservative Party
Brandon Dutcher
Senior Vice President, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Doug Kellogg
Executive Director, Ohioans for Tax Reform
Tom Hebert
Executive Director, Open Competition Center
Jeff Kropf
President, Oregon Taxpayer Coalition and the Oregon Capitol Watch Foundation
Grant Maloy
Chairman, Orlando Center-Right Coalition Meeting
Ellen Weaver
President & CEO, Palmetto Promise Institute
Stephen Stepanek
President, Pine Tree Public Policy Institute
Co-Chairman, New Hampshire Center-Right Coalition Meeting
Penna Dexter
Co-host, Point of View Radio Show
Lorenzo Montanari
Executive Director, Property Rights Alliance
Nancy Schulze
Founder and President, RCW Speakers
Craig Shirley
Reagan Biographer and Presidential Historian
Dr. Rick Scarborough
President, Recover America Action
Paul Gessing
President, Rio Grande Foundation
Mike Stenhouse
CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Bryan Bashur
Executive Director, Shareholder Advocacy Forum
Kerri Toloczko
Chairman, Southwest Florida Center-Right Coalition Meeting
David Miller
Co-Chairman, Southwest Ohio Center-Right Coalition Meeting
Sal Russo
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Tea Party Express
Judson Phillips
Founder, Tea Party Nation
William W. Pascoe, III
Our Man in Washington
Tea Party Patriots Action
Vance Ginn
Chief Economist, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Kent Kaiser
Executive Director, Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity
C. Preston Noell III
President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Terrence Scanlon
Retired Chairman, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commn.
Retired Chairman and President, Capital Research Center, (22 years)
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
The Honorable Stephen Stockman
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Texas
Rusty Cannon
President, Utah Taxpayer Association
Floyd Brown
Founder, The Western Journal