New Trump Rule Would Tilt Tax Code in Favor of the Richest Americans and Big Businesses
Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today slammed the Trump administration for its schemes to give big businesses and ultra-wealthy Americans the green light to avoid reporting their taxes, which will prevent Internal Revenue Service auditors from spotting abusive transactions in wealthy businesses organized as partnerships.
“Removing this reporting requirement will enable tax dodging by some of the wealthiest Americans, further tilting our tax code in favor of the rich and powerful,” wrote Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and several Democratic colleagues to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Kenneth Kies.
Big businesses and ultra-wealthy Americans can hire armies of accountants and lawyers to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes. The Biden administration created a vital IRS oversight tool that cracked down on tax dodging schemes from the richest Americans, and it was estimated to raise $100 billion over a decade.
Now, the Trump administration is proposing to shred this Biden-era protection, along with firing and pushing out newly hired IRS employees who examine those ultra-wealthy partnerships.
“We oppose the Trump Administration’s efforts to enable tax avoidance by the wealthy and urge the Treasury Department to maintain the basis shifting reporting regulations and reinstate robust enforcement,” the letter concluded.
The letter was led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Joining Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Chris Van-Hollen, D-Md., Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Peter Welch, D-Vt.
Text of the letter is here.
A web version of this release is here.
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