💰Ways and Means Committee passes 15% corporate rate in reconciliation

Trump's push to reduce business tax rates from 21% to 15% eliminates federal revenue equivalent to the entire defense budget. Corporations capture permanent benefits while taxpayers absorb mounting national debt costs through reduced services and future tax increases needed to balance budgets.

Lower corporate rates aim to attract foreign investment and prevent American companies from relocating overseas. However, European and Asian competitors respond with their own reductions, creating a global race to the bottom that benefits multinational corporations while starving governments of public revenue worldwide.

The tax restructure favors business owners who can reclassify salary income as corporate profits taxed at lower rates. Professional service providers, consultants, and entrepreneurs reduce their effective tax rates while working-class employees see no comparable benefits, increasing inequality between capital and labor income.

Permanent corporate reductions require offsetting revenue increases or program eliminations to maintain deficit neutrality under Senate rules. Republicans must choose between popular tax cuts and spending programs, typically resolving the tension by reducing social services while protecting business incentives.