The National Retail Federation (NRF) issued the following statement from SVP of Government Relations David French in response to President Biden’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024.
“President Biden’s proposed tax increase would make the U.S. corporate tax rate among the highest in the industrialized world. Raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent would disproportionately impact retailers and their employees.
“Before the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, retailers paid one of the highest effective tax rates of any industry and benefited from few of the tax incentives, deductions and credits in the Internal Revenue Code.
“Ratcheting the rate back up would result in a loss of retail jobs and the closing of stores, and would undermine retailers’ ability to invest in expanded e-commerce capabilities.
“A Federal Reserve Board study found that a corporate tax rate increase would be ‘uniformly harmful to workers,’ costing a typical American family thousands of dollars a year in lower wages.
“Businesses and consumers are already facing persistently high inflation and a slowing economy. Using higher taxes on businesses to fund the President’s budget and reduce the deficit would force all businesses, not just retailers, to increase prices for their products and would further drive inflation.
“As the leading authority and voice for retail, NRF’s priority is preserving the corporate tax rate at 21 percent.”
