House GOP Vows to Spike OECD Tax Plan

The White House has not authority to implement the global minimum tax, including the undertaxed profits rule, the Republicans wrote in a letter to OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

The letter is signed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (La), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn), Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (Mo), along with every Ways and Means Republican.

“Implementation of the UTPR and other OECD policies would force the United States to forfeit $120 billion in revenue to foreign governments while offering competitive advantages to China and others,” they wrote.

“Ultimately, the Biden-Harris administration lacks the authority to impose any tax deal on Americans without the approval of the U.S. Congress – doing so would violate the United States Constitution...The United States Constitution expressly grants the taxing power to Congress, not to the President.

"Specifically, the U.S. Constitution requires that ‘[a]ll bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.’ This constitutional structure makes the Committee on Ways and Means, the tax-writing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, the only entity where changes in U.S. tax law may originate.

"Thus, the Biden-Harris administration’s unilateral negotiations without consultation with Congress constitutes a major overstep of its authority, with dire consequences for American workers and businesses.”

The lawmakers argued that “China will exploit the OECD global tax deal’s loophole for direct government subsidies, which are a hallmark of Chinese economic activity. Other countries will likely do the same, thwarting the OECD’s stated purpose of ensuring a minimum level of taxation.”

“Should foreign governments seek to target Americans through the UTPR or other mechanisms in the OECD global tax deal, we will be forced to pursue countermeasures,” they warned.