Keystone Today

The Left is proposing a minimum tax proposal during a time when manufacturers are already struggling with an impending recession amid inflation and supply-chain disruptions, according to new analysis results from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). The analysis suggests that half of the $313 billion book minimum tax increase would be borne by manufacturers in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

The Democrats’ latest tax-and-spend bill places a 15% minimum tax on corporations, according to a release from the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. If it becomes law, the proposal would raise companies’ tax bills until they reach that minimum rate. According to an analysis performed by the JCT, 49.7% of the book minimum tax would be endured by the manufacturing industry.

“The JCT confirmed what we have been saying for over a year: This fundamentally flawed proposal, which has not been properly vetted by either Congressional tax-writing committee, risks severely harming American manufacturers, exacerbating supply-chain disruptions, and ultimately costing U.S. jobs and investment," Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said. “This is a domestic manufacturing tax, plain and simple. Now is not the time to resurrect a harmful policy that would overwhelmingly hit American manufacturers and supply chains, as well as undercut critical research and development and investment in emerging technologies.”

According to the report from the Congressional JCT, the plan would affect approximately 150 companies annually and raise about $313 billion over a decade. The committee estimates nearly half of the revenue would come from manufacturers.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance suggests that despite Democrats' claims, the book minimum tax does not close tax loopholes. Tax depreciation rules were intentionally designed by Congress to support domestic investment, the committee says. The Democrats’ tax on U.S. manufacturers would eliminate that benefit.

The minimum-tax proposal is part of an agreement reached last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill, which Schumer is trying to get all 50 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to back, raises money for health care spending and climate-change initiatives.

According to Industry Select, among the top 10 manufacturing companies in Pennsylvania, which are likely to be affected by the tax-and-spend bill, are Merck & Co., Inc., East Penn Mfg. Co., Boeing Defense Space & Security, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The top manufacturers are primarily located in Philadelphia, York, Lancaster, Erie and Allentown.