Corporate Taxes Make the Rich Richer while All You Get is Higher Prices

From 2020 to 2024, corporate tax cuts proved to be a goldmine for the wealthy while leaving the average consumer grappling with higher prices. Lower corporate tax rates allowed companies to boost their profits, but instead of investing in growth or lowering prices, they focused on stock buybacks and dividends. Shareholders and executives enjoyed the windfall, while the rest of us saw the cost of goods rise.

Despite the promises of trickle-down benefits, the reality was starkly different. The wealthy saw their fortunes grow, with the top one percent accumulating even more wealth. In fact, 2023 marked the first year where the wealthiest Americans enjoyed a lower effective tax rate than the majority of the population oai_citation:1,President Biden’s FY 2024 budget renews call for 28% corporate rate increase: PwC
oai_citation:2,Biden Corporate Tax Increase | Details & Analysis | Tax Foundation oai_citation:3,Biden’s FY2025 budget again calls for corporate and individual tax increases: PwC
oai_citation:4,Biden Budget & Biden Tax Increases: Details & Analysis oai_citation:5,FACT SHEET: President Biden Is Fighting to Reduce the Deficit, Cut Taxes for Working Families, and Invest in America by Making Big Corporations and the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share | The White House.

And what has President Biden done? Proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% and the top individual income tax rate to 39.6%, aiming to make the wealthy pay their fair share and reduce the wealth gap. But with political gridlock, these changes are more of a hopeful aspiration than a current reality oai_citation:6,President Biden’s FY 2024 budget renews call for 28% corporate rate increase: PwC
oai_citation:7,FACT SHEET: President Biden Is Fighting to Reduce the Deficit, Cut Taxes for Working Families, and Invest in America by Making Big Corporations and the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share | The White House.

So, here we are, watching the rich get richer while we foot the bill with higher prices. Corporate tax cuts might have been sold as a benefit for all, but in practice, they’ve made it clear who the real winners are. And if Biden could pass tax increases, it is not a return to where we were pre Trump tax cuts. Both parties are therefore committed to keeping corporate tax rates lower.