U.S. President Joe Biden plans to pay for his $2 trillion infrastructure plan with higher corporate taxes, which is facing criticism from Republicans and industry support groups including the American Petroleum Institute who say it will kill jobs.
The plan would hike the U.S. corporate tax rate to 28%, from its current 21%, to secure more revenue from corporations that have used offshore tax shelters and other measures to reduce their tax burdens, Reuters reported.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) issued a statement from Senior Vice President for Policy, Economic and Regulatory Affairs Frank Macchiarola which said API supports the administration’s goal of modernizing infrastructure and welcomes efforts to address climate change but notes the proposal “misses an opportunity to take an across-the-board approach to addressing all our infrastructure needs – including on modern pipelines.”
“Targeting specific industries with new taxes would only undermine the nation’s economic recovery and jeopardize good-paying jobs, including union jobs,” Macchiarola said in the statement. “It’s important to note that our industry receives no special tax treatment, and we will continue to advocate for a tax code that supports a level playing field for all economic sectors along with policies that sustain and grow the billions of dollars in government revenue that we help generate.”
The plan includes hundreds of billions of dollars to boost the market for electric vehicles, renewable power and advanced clean energy technologies, while stripping away subsidies for fossil fuels, Reuters reported.
API argues natural gas and oil companies receive no special tax treatment from the federal government as the U.S. tax code is applied equally across industries. Deductions that incentivize investment are not subsidies, API says.
