President Joe Biden has pitched to Republicans the idea of a 15% minimum tax on U.S. corporations, along with strengthened IRS enforcement efforts, as a way to fund a bipartisan infrastructure package, Bloomberg News reported. The proposal sets aside the Biden administration’s proposal to raise the headline corporate income rate to 28% from 21% — a non-starter for Republican lawmakers — though that could be pursued elsewhere. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the offer during a briefing Thursday. Under the pitch to Republicans, companies that have lots of tax credits and deductions would be required to pay at least 15%. The plan would also increase tax revenues by conducting more audits of rich taxpayers. Those two funding measures were already included in Biden’s tax plans. The White House sees the offer as raising money without increasing tax rates or rolling back President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, something that Republicans have said is a red line in the negotiations.
