***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full remarks and questioning***
Senator Murray: “There really is no reason that an investor on Wall Street should be paying less in taxes than a firefighter in Spokane or a nurse in Seattle.”
(Washington, DC) – Today, during a Senate Budget Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, highlighted the trillions of dollars in lost revenues from tax avoidance by billionaires and giant corporations. Senator Murray questioned witnesses on how the Trump tax cuts have largely failed. Senator Murray has long made the case that our current tax system should be reformed to invest in a permanent expanded Child Tax Credit and rebuilding America’s broken child care system.
“There really is no reason that an investor on Wall Street should be paying less in taxes than a firefighter in Spokane or a nurse in Seattle,” said Senator Murray. “It’s not fair and I don’t think it’s American. We really need to close the loopholes and make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share, and we need to make sure they play by the same set of rules as everyone else—what is controversial about that?”
Senator Murray spoke about the constant push from Republicans to offer bigger corporate handouts and bigger loopholes the wealthy can take advantage of. She laid out the giveaways in the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that lined the pockets of Wall Street and contrasted it with the steps Democrats took in the Inflation Reduction Act to help working families.
“In stark contrast to the Trump tax giveaway for the rich and wealthy, I’m very proud that Democrats were able to pass steps in the Inflation Reduction Act to help working families by lowering costs and leveling the playing field,” said Senator Murray. “That included steps like making sure billion-dollar companies are paying at least the same 15 percent tax rate as small businesses already pay, taxing stock buyback schemes that enrich Wall Street executives, and getting the IRS the funding it needs to enforce the law, close the tax gap, and make sure that wealthy taxpayers are complying with the same rules as everyone else.”
Senator Murray questioned two experts, Dr. Kim Clausing from the University of California, Los Angeles and Dr. Danny Yagan from the University of California, Berkeley, on how the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has failed to deliver on Republicans’ promises that it would strengthen the economy.
“The economic theory behind the Trump Tax Cuts was that cutting corporate taxes would rev the economy because these cuts would allegedly trickle down to benefit workers. It has been almost six years since that legislation was passed. Do you think the Trump Tax Cuts are working as promised?” Senator Murray asked.
“The Trump Tax Cuts did raise deficits a lot, that is one thing we know for sure. If you search for positive effects on investment or economic growth, they are very difficult to find,” said Dr. Clausing, the Chair of Tax Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. “One reason that we can point to for why it didn’t have any positive effects on investment or growth is that the companies that were really benefiting from this tax cut are companies that already had more than enough cash on hand to undertake any worthwhile investment.”
Senator Murray’s opening statement as delivered is below:
Thank you, Chair Whitehouse for holding this important hearing.
I know there’s a lot of hardworking families in my home state of Washington, who are doing their part, they’re playing by the rules, paying their fair share in taxes and they deserve to know everyone else is as well.
There really is no reason that an investor on Wall Street should be paying less in taxes than a firefighter in Spokane or a nurse in Seattle.
There really is no reason that companies making billions in profit should pay less in taxes than mom-and-pop stores across Washington state or across the country.
It’s not fair and I don’t think it’s American.
We really need to close the loopholes, and make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share, and make sure that they play by the same set of rules as everyone else—I just don’t think that’s controversial.
And yet, some Republicans have constantly pushed for bigger corporate handouts and bigger loopholes and giveaways the wealthy can take advantage of.
The Trump tax bill was chock full of freebies and handouts for those at the top. It lined the pockets of Wall Street, and loaded the national credit card with trillions in debt.
Still, after that debacle, when it came time to raise the debt ceiling under the last president—Congress did the responsible thing:
We worked together in a bipartisan way to raise the limit, like we have done so many times before, and like we should do again now.
The full faith and credit of the United States should never be held hostage to score political points, period.
In stark contrast to the Trump tax giveaway for the rich and wealthy, I’m very proud Democrats were able to pass steps in the Inflation Reduction Act to help working families by lowering costs and leveling the playing field.
That included steps like ensuring billion-dollar companies are paying at least the same 15 percent tax rate as small businesses already pay, taxing stock buyback schemes that enrich Wall Street executives, and getting the IRS the funding it needs to enforce the law, close the tax gap, and make sure that wealthy taxpayers are complying with the same rules as everyone else.
And I should note—that funding is also improving customer support for everyone—making it easier for our constituents to get help, to get answers, and to get their tax refunds.
What we’re talking about here is common sense, and basic fairness. You don’t get to ignore the law just because you’re rich.
Those big, billion dollar companies? I don’t know about anybody else, but I never want to see a list of the largest companies in America that pay nothing in federal corporate income taxes again. It is just not fair.
Wealthy Wall Street investors? They should pay taxes and play by the rules, just like the hardworking people in this country.
And everyday Americans? They should not be stuck footing the bill for billionaires who can pay lawyers to run circles around the IRS instead of paying their taxes like everyone else. I’m really glad that President Biden has put forward a roadmap to help move us even closer to a tax system where everyone pays their fair share.
And I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how we can do that.
###
English 
Spanish