Op-Ed: Mega corporations that conduct business in California should pay their fair share

President Joe Biden is right. The massive tax cuts under the Trump administration turned out to be nothing more than a giant giveaway to the world’s largest corporations. 

Mega corporations like FedEx, Nike, General Motors, Ford, Chevron and dozens of others have paid nothing or almost nothing in federal taxes, while raking in billions of dollars.

At the same time, the Trump tax handouts have worsened our national debt and harmed our economy. In all, the cuts cost our nation roughly $2.3 trillion and deepened the federal deficit by $2 trillion.

Biden has proposed to partially reverse the Trump tax cuts, which slashed the federal corporate tax rate in 2017 by 40%, from 35% to 21%. Under Biden’s plan, the corporate rate would increase modestly to 28%.

The president’s plan is smart, prudent and responsible, and would help balance our federal budget. That plan, however, is being stalled by the Republicans who control Congress, so the Trump tax cuts appear here to stay.

But that doesn’t mean the fight for fairness is over. California has the opportunity to follow the president’s lead and recover some of Trump’s tax giveaway. The California Senate’s Protect Our Progress budget plan would do exactly that, while also helping small businesses – the backbone of our economy who’ve been buffeted by inflation – and maintaining funding for our schools, homelessness programs, climate protection, child care and more.

For the full op-ed, click here.