CONTACT:

Carter Dougherty
carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
(202) 251-6700

Washington DC – On Wednesday, Republican Congressional leaders and the Administration released a tax framework that includes proposals to:

• Lower the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, a boon to the largest Wall Street banks;
• Institute a special 25 percent rate for “pass-through” businesses — like hedge funds, private equity, and real estate developers — which have their income taxed under the individual income tax.
• The plan made no mention of closing the carried interest loophole for Wall Street money managers, a Trump campaign promise.

“This ‘plan’ amounts to a package of tax cuts for Wall Street and the 1%: Big, profitable banks would avoid paying billions of dollars a year, and private funds—masters of tax evasion—will reap a huge portion of the benefit from what the plan deceptively describes as ‘small business tax cuts,’” said Luisa Galvao, a representative with the Take on Wall Street campaign. “Instead of contriving new ways for Wall Street to grab and hold an even larger portion of our wealth, Congress should focus tax legislation on ensuring our country can afford health care, good schools and other important services and on discouraging dangerous financial speculation, by closing loopholes and making Wall Street pay its fair share.”

The announcement came on the heels of a lavish fund-raiser for the National GOP organized by Trump in New York City, where guests paid a quarter-million dollars per couple for face time with the President.

The Take on Wall Street campaign — a group of over 50 community groups, unions, consumer advocates and others, including Americans for Financial Reform, Communications Workers of America, Public Citizen, Institute for Policy Studies, the AFL-CIO and Americans for Tax Fairness — is urging Congress to adopt a set of tax reform measures that would raise more than $1 trillion in additional revenue and discourage dangerous Wall Street speculation.

At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Business Tax Reform last week, groups in the coalition staged a satirical action dressed as billionaires asking for tax handouts to highlight how the Republican tax plan amounts to a giveaway to Wall Street money managers and the 1%. (Link with photos here)

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