September 9th, 2021 

Dear Chairman Neal, Ranking Member Brady, and Members of the Ways and Means Committee:

As your committee begins marking up the $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and spend reconciliation proposal, we write in opposition to any effort to raise taxes on American families and businesses.

It is expected that the reconciliation legislation will include countless tax increases totaling trillions of dollars. Some of the tax increases that have been publicly floated include:

• Raising the corporate tax rate to 25 percent or 28 percent, a rate higher than Communist China • Doubling the capital gains tax to 43.4 percent
• Raising the top rate to 39.6 percent • Creating a second death tax by eliminating step-upin basis
• 95 percent excise tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers if they fail to accept government set price controls
• Repealing the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income
• Raising taxes on carried interest capital gains
• Raising the tax rate on GILTI to a top rate of 26.25 percent and requiring it to be calculated on a country-by-country basis
• Imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on book income • Retroactively capping the conservation easement deduction
• Repealing numerous oil and gas tax provisions including the deduction for intangible drilling costs (IDCs)
• A tax on American energy manufacturers based on their methane production
• A carbon border tax
• Capping Section 1031 like-kind exchanges

Supporters of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, like selfavowed socialist Bernie Sanders claim that the tax Page 2 of 12 increases will be paid by billionaires “who don't pay a nickel in federal income taxes … (and) large corporations that make billions in profit, and in some years do not pay a penny in federal income taxes.”

This claim is false. Millions of small businesses will see higher taxes through the increase in the corporate tax and the top marginal income tax rate. In addition, the plan to repeal step-up in basis will raise taxes on family-owned businesses across the country.

Democrats have also floated retroactive tax increases on the American people. For instance, the Biden budget calls for retroactively increasing the capital gains tax. This is a terrible idea – retroactive tax policy changes the rules on taxpayers after the fact. It is fundamentally unfair and erodes confidence in the tax system.

Many of the tax hikes being pushed by the administration violate President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on any American earning less than $400,000 per year. A recent analysis by the left-of-center Tax Policy Center found that the tax hikes proposed in President Biden’s budget will raise taxes on 74.1 percent of middle income-quintile households in 2022. In addition, a report by the Joint Committee on Taxation found that over the long-term, approximately $100 billion of the corporate tax increase would be borne by taxpayers making less than $100,000.

Now is one of the worst times to raise taxes on American families and businesses. We are still over five million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. In addition, inflation is running rampant and increasing prices for families and businesses across the country.

Rather than pushing tax increases on American families and businesses, we urge you to push policies that promote economic growth so that the economy can recover and grow.

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist 
President, Americans for Tax Reform

Ryan Ellis
President, Center for a Free Economy

David McIntosh
President, The Club for Growth 

Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union 

Brent Wm. Gardner 
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity 

Garrett Bess
Vice President, Heritage Action for America 

Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks

Stephen Moore
Senior Economic Contributor, FreedomWorks

Governor Scott Walker 
President, Young America's Foundation 

Tom Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Angela Logomasini 
Senior Fellow, Comeptitive Enterprise Institute 

Marlo Lewis
Senior Fellow, Energy & Environmental Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance 

Lisa B. Nelson 
CEO, Alec Action 

Daniel Schneider 
Executive Director, American Conservative Union 

Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment 

Saulius "Saul" Anuzis 
President, 60 Plus Association 

Jim Martin
Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association 

Marty Connors 
Co-Chairman, Alabama Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

Alan Sears 
Founder, Alliance Defending Freedom 

Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action 

Kelly Kullberg
American Association of Evangelicals 

Dick Patten
President, American Business Defense Council

Thomas Pyle
President, American Energy Alliance 

Kathleen Patten 
President and CEO, American Target Advertising, Inc. 

Gary L. Bauer 
President, American Values 

Dee Stewart
President, Americans for a Balanced Budget 

The Honorable Jake Hoffman 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Brenda Barton
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Leo Biasiucci
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Walt Blackman 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Judy Burges 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Joseph Chaplik 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable John Fillmore
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Gail Griffin
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Justin Wilmeth
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable John Kavanaugh 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Becky Nutt 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Jacqueline Parker 
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Kevin Payne
Arizona House of Representatives 

The Honorable Beverly Pingerelli
Arizona House of Representatives 

E.C. Sykes
General Partner, Aslan Ventures 

Robert Alt 
President and CEO, The Buckeye Institute 

Lourdes Cosio
Campaign for the American Future 

Ralph Benko
Chairman, The Capitalist League 

Susan A. Carleson 
President/CEO, Carleson Center for Welfare Reform 

Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity 

Jeffrey Mazzella 
President, Center for Individual Freedom 

Ginevra Joyce-Myers
Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Free Enterprise 

Shannon O. Royce, J.D. 
President, Christian Employers Alliance 

David Kullberg 
Executive Director, Christians for a Sustainable Economy 

David N. Bossie 
President, Citizens United 

Kay R. Daly 
President, Coalition for a Fair Judiciary 

Mr. John J. Park Jr. 
Conservative Activist 

Karen Hartman
Conservative Activist/Paralegal

Morton Blackwell
Chairman, Conservative Leadership PAC 

George K. Rasley Jr. 
Managing Editor, ConservativeHQ.com

Alfred S. Regnery 
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President, Republic Book Publishers 

Ron Pearson 
Executive Director, Conservative Victory Fund 

James Edwards 
Executive Director, Conservatives for Property Rights 

Matthew Kandrach 
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy 

Charles J. Cooper 
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC 

Guillermo J. Aragon
Senior Partner, Corbere Partners 

Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty 

Steven J. Buri
President, Discovery Institute 

Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman, Eagle Forum 

Donna Rice Hughes 
CEO/President, Enough is Enough 

Palmer Schoening 
Chairman, Family Business Coalition 

Annette Thompson Meeks
CEO, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota 

George Landrith 
President, Frontiers of Freedom 

Victor Riches
President & CEO, Goldwater Institute 

Andresen Blom
President, Hawaiin Values 

Carrie Lukas 
President, Independent Women's Forum 

Heather R. Higgins 
CEO, Independent Women's Voice 

Andrew Langer 
President, Institute for Liberty 

Tom Giovanetti 
President, Institute for Policy Innovation 

Christopher Ingstad 
President, Iowans for Tax Relief 

Peggy Dau 
Representative, Iran Alive Ministries 

John Dodd
President Emeritus, Jesse Helms Center
Chairman, North Carolina Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
President, Leadership Institute 

Seton Motley 
President, Less Government 

Mrs. Kielle C. Horton
President, The Lindsey Foundation 

Randy M Long 
Founder, Long Business Advisors LLC 

Brett Healy
President, MacIver Institute 

Gary Marx
President, Madison Strategies 

Matthew Gagnon 
Chief Executive Officer, Maine Policy Institute 

Charles Sauer
President, Market Institute 

Christina Murky Lusk, Esq. 
President, The Martin Foundation 

Rod. D. Martin 
Founder and CEO, The Martin Organization, Inc. 

L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President, Media Research Center 

Tim Jones 
Chair, Missouri Center-Right Coalition 
Fmr. Speaker, Missouri House 

Joseph A. Morris 
Partner, Morris & De La Rosa 
Assistant U.S. Attorney General (President Reagan) 

Justin Danhof
Executive Vice President, National Center for Public Policy Research 

Shawn Mitchell
Former National Chaplain, National Federation of Republican Assemblies 

Chuck Muth 
Chairman, Nevada Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

Melvin Adams
President, Noah Webster Educational Foundation 

Kevin Freeman 
Founder, NSIC Institute 

Gerard Kassar
State Chairman, NYS Conservative Party

Brandon Dutcher 
Senior Vice President, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs 

Doug Kellogg
Executive Director, Ohioans for Tax Reform 

Tom Hebert 
Executive Director Open Competition Center 

Jeff Krompf 
President, Oregon Taxpayer Coalition and the Oregon Capitol Watch Foundation 

Grant Maloy
Chairman, Orlando Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

Ellen Weaver 
President & CEO, Palmetto Promise Institute 

Stephen Stepanek
President, Pine Tree Public Policy Institute 
Co-Chairman, New Hampshire Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

Penna Dexter 
Co-host, Point of View Radio Show 

Lorenzo Montanari 
Executive Director, Property Rights Alliance 

Nancy Schulze 
Founder and President, RCW Speakers 

Craig Shirley 
Reagan Biographer and Presidential Historian 

Dr. Rick Scarborough 
President, Recover America Action 

Paul Gessing 
President, Rio Grande Foundation 

Mike Stenhouse 
CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity 

Bryan Bashur
Executive Director, Shareholder Advocacy Forum 

Kerri Toloczko
Chairman, Southwest Florida Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

David Miller 
Co-Chairman, Southwest Ohio Center-Right Coalition Meeting 

Sal Russo
Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Tea Party Express 

Judson Phillips 
Founder, Tea Party Nation 

William W. Pascoe, III 
Our Man in Washington; Tea Party Patriots Action 

Vance Ginn
Chief Economist, Texas Public Policy Foundation 

Kent Kaiser 
Executive Director, Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity 

C. Preston Noell III
President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. 

Terrence Scanlon
Retired Chairman, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commn. 
Retired Chaitman and President, Capital Research Center 

The Honorable Bob McEwen 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Former Member, Ohio 

The Honorable Stephem Stockman 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Former Member, Texas 

Rusty Cannon 
President, Utah Taxpayer Association 

Floyd Brown 
Founder, The Western Journal 

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