Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolled out a new tax plan Wednesday that seeks to raise more government revenue off of “excessive lobbying” to help insulate Congress from the influence of big corporations.
The Massachusetts Democrat has already vowed to implement a “wealth tax” and is now pushing for a new tax on “every corporation and trade organization that spends over $500,000 per year lobbying our government.”
Under her plan, businesses that funnel anywhere between $500,000 to $1 million on lobbying will be forced to pay a 35% tax on that spending. The tax climbs from there, with every additional dollar over $1 million invested in lobbying being slapped with a 60% tax and every additional dollar over $5 million being slapped with a 75% tax.
“My new lobbying tax will make hiring armies of lobbyists significantly more expensive for the largest corporate influencers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Boeing, and Comcast,” she said. “Sure, this may mean that some corporations and industry groups will choose to reduce their lobbying expenditures, raising less tax revenue down the road — but in that case, all the better.”
“And if instead corporations continue to engage in excessive lobbying, my lobbying tax will raise even more revenue for Congress, agencies, and federal watchdogs to fight back,” Ms. Warren said.
She said the money raised from the new tax would pay for a new Lobbying Defense Fund that could help beef up the Office of Technology Assessment and the Congressional Budget Office.
She said the money also will be used to offset the lobbying of federal agencies and establish a “new Office of the Public Advocate.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.