Yellen defends corporate tax rate hikes as modest by historical standards

The Biden Administration’s proposed increases in corporate taxes would leave corporate tax rates in the US lower than they were at any point between World War II and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the National Association for Business Economics on September 28.

Yellen noted that corporate taxes are at a historic low of 1% of GDP, adding that the Administration only seeks to return corporate taxation “part way toward historic norms.” The rate changes would be combined with additional measures targeting offshoring and profit shifting, as well as efforts to rein in international tax competition.

“Not only is the United States in the bottom quartile of advanced countries in terms of overall tax revenue as a percent of GDP,” Yellen contended, “but we are at the very bottom in corporate tax revenue as a share of GDP.”

The increased corporate tax revenues will be used to invest in infrastructure and the workforce, she argued, with resulting benefits for businesses.

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