Republican lawmakers are working with Hungarian officials to block a global corporate minimum tax backed by the Biden administration, The Washington Post reports.
President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are backing a global corporate minimum tax of 15% on large multinational corporations.
The Biden administration said a global deal was necessary to ensure that governments do not keep slashing services to keep tax rates low, warning of a “race to the bottom” by nations trying to attract investors.
Republicans in Congress oppose the tax, as they typically do all corporate taxes.
The Biden administration and European leaders are hoping to ratify the tax in the coming weeks. Biden has said the US can approve the deal through a budget reconciliation process, which would not require any Republican votes.
GOP works with Orban admin:
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, said he is working with Republican lawmakers on how to resist the tax, according to the Post.
Orban’s government has held up the implantation of the tax by the European Union, which requires unanimous consent from its member states.
Every other EU country supports the proposal.
“We are constantly consulting with the Republicans. There is a constant professional consultation on this issue,” Szijjarto said in an interview. “We think that the lower the taxes on labor and businesses the more it helps in terms of competitiveness.”
Which Republicans?
The extent of the cooperation is unclear.
Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith and Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly, who both site on the House Ways and Means Committee, sent a letter to Hungary’s ambassador urging the country to reject the deal.
Both lawmakers’ spokespeople denied they were in contact with the government.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey has also praised Hungary’s resistance, though an aide said he has not met with Hungarian officials.
