September 27, 2024

Warren, Whitehouse, Casar, Lawmakers Slam 35 Companies for Paying Their Executives More Than They Pay in Federal Income Taxes

Text of Letters (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas) led their colleagues in slamming 35 major companies that have been paying their executives more than they pay in federal income taxes. The lawmakers point to this as an additional reason why Congress must reform the tax code in 2025 to ensure that big corporations are paying what they owe.

“For decades, big businesses and the wealthy have skirted their responsibility to pay federal income taxes, leaving hardworking Americans to foot the bill,” wrote the lawmakers. “As Congress considers what to do when some provisions of the 2017 law expire next year, it is critical that we ensure that large, profitable businesses are paying their fair share.” 

In the first five years following the $2 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed by Republicans and signed by President Trump in 2017, 35 companies raked in $277 billion in domestic profits. These companies then paid an average effective income tax rate of just 14.1 percent, almost a third less than the 21 percent statutory rate. Instead of these gains “trickling down” to workers, the corporations paid their executives $9.5 billion – more than they paid in federal income taxes. While executives were making $989,000 per year or more, an average raise of $50,000 per executive, 90 percent of workers saw no earnings increase.

The most egregious examples of these companies – and the ones the lawmakers wrote to – include: Tesla, TMobile, Netflix, AIG, Ford, NextEra, Darden, MetLife, Duke Energy, First Energy, DISH, Principal Financial, American Electrical Power, Kinder Morgan, Dominion, Oneok, Williams, Xcel Energy, NRG Energy, Salesforce, DTE Energy, Ameren, Sempra Energy, US Steel, Entergy, AmerisourceBergen, PPL, CMS Energy, Evergy, Voya Financial, Atmos Energy, Alliant Energy, Match Group, UGI, and Agilent Tech.

“Next year, Congress has an opportunity to take bigger strides in reforming our tax code – to raise the corporate rate, close loopholes, and hold big businesses to the same standards as everyday working Americans who pay their fair share,” concluded the lawmakers.

In addition to Senators Warren and Whitehouse, and Representative Casar, the letters were also signed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (D-Vermont), as well as Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Eleanor Norton (D-D.C.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). 

Senator Warren has led the fight to close tax loopholes for the wealthy and giant corporations to ensure a more fair tax system: 

  • In July 2024, Senator Warren called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to fully implement the 15% Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax signed into law by President Biden in the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago to preemptively stop corporate attempts to avoid paying their fair share.
  • In June 2024, Senator Warren delivered remarks at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth to set the agenda on taxes ahead of the 2025 tax fight and urge Democrats to back President Biden’s agenda to tax the rich. Senator Warren’s call came as Congress prepared for major tax policy changes as a large portion of the 2017 Republican tax cuts for the wealthy were set to expire. 
  • In March 2024, Senator Warren, along with U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), reintroduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, popular, comprehensive legislation that would bring in at least $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years by requiring that the top 0.05 percent of American households chip in 2 cents for every dollar of wealth over $50 million. The newly introduced version of the bill included stronger rules on trusts, a common method the ultra-wealthy utilize to avoid paying taxes that cost the federal government between $5 and $7 billion annually. 
  • In November 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Warren called out efforts by lobbyists for giant corporations trying to extend three of the biggest corporate giveaways in the Trump tax cuts: bonus depreciation, R&D expensing, and looser limits on net interest deduction. 
  • In October 2023, Senators Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Secretary Janet Yellen and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, urging them to proactively use the Treasury Department’s rulemaking authority to close tax loopholes that create inconsistency and unfairness in the tax system and threaten the government’s ability to raise important revenue.
  • In August 2023, Senators Warren, Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sanders sent a letter to the Treasury and IRS, urging them to quickly propose and implement strong rules that close loopholes exploited by crypto tax evaders.
  • In April 2023, Senator Warren sent a letter to Secretary Yellen and Commissioner Werfel, urging them to follow through on the commitments of the Biden administration by examining and taking concrete steps to address racial inequities in tax benefits and enforcement.
  • In March 2023, Senators Warren, Van Hollen, Sanders, and Whitehouse sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging her to use the full extent of the Treasury Department’s regulatory authority to crack down on the ultra-wealthy’s use of trusts to dodge paying their fair share in taxes.

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