Leading Retailers: Tax & Energy Deal Strikes Right Balance
- By [ Michael Hanson ]
- Washington, DC
- 07/28/2022
"The number one priority for retailers throughout the tax reform debate in 2017 was the enactment of a lower, more competitive corporate tax rate. For retailers, who have historically paid an effective tax rate more than 10 percentage points higher than the average U.S. industry, lowering the rate to 21 percent was a huge win and resulted in major investments by retailers in their workforce.
"Simply put, the industry’s number one priority during the tax debate in 2021-22 was to keep the rate at 21 percent. Retailers were critical of earlier efforts by the Biden administration to raise the corporate rate to 25 percent or more, but supportive of efforts to enact a minimum tax and more efficiently collect taxes that were legally owed but uncollected.
"The agreement struck accomplishes all the objectives retailers have set out to achieve throughout the debate on corporate taxes: permanent lower rates, fairness to ensure all are contributing, and better enforcement to collect what is legally owed.
"Retailers also back the incentives for private industry to spur a transformation to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. The deal struck to combat climate change strikes the right balance of goals and incentives to ensure we make measurable strides without hammering private industry with job-killing mandates.
"Retailers long believed a deal could be struck that lowered the deficit without raising taxes and made smart investments to combat climate change. We are hopeful that a final deal contains these provisions and is passed by the House and Senate."
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Tags
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Climate and Sustainability
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Tax
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Public Policy
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Supporting Free Markets and Fostering Innovation
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Ensuring a Safe, Sustainable Future
