Washington, D.C. - The following statement on the upcoming vote in the House of Representatives on the reconciliation bill can be attributed to U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. The Chamber today issued a key vote letter to members of the House of Representatives.
“This legislation should not be passed by the House and signed into law because it includes tax increases and government price controls that will deter investment, inhibit innovation, and undermine economic growth.
“The proposed Book Minimum Tax would undermine capital investment, making America poorer and reducing future economic growth. The excise tax on stock buybacks would distort the efficient movement of capital to where it can be put to best use and diminish the value of Americans’ retirement savings. Price controls on pharmaceuticals would significantly reduce private sector investment in new research and drug development, and result in the loss of nearly 600,000 jobs and lead to 15 fewer new drugs over the next 30 years.
“We appreciate the efforts of lawmakers who worked with the business community to remove other detrimental taxes and regulations from the reconciliation bill that was proposed last summer. More than $2 trillion in harmful tax increases have been removed from the current bill including provisions that would have raised the corporate and personal tax rates, taxed capital gains at personal income rates, established a global minimum tax, and imposed a tax increase on pass-through businesses. That original bill also included a litany of regulations and new government spending programs that would have shifted our economy from the free market to a government-knows-best approach.”
