Senate Republicans fear that President-elect Trump’s tax agenda could be derailed in the House by several potential landmines, including calls by some GOP lawmakers to raise corporate taxes and to lift the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

Senators worry that if one or two House Republicans insist on raising corporate taxes to cut the deficit and a few others insist on substantially raising the cap on SALT deductions, Trump’s broader $4.5 trillion tax initiative may stall.

Former President Donald Trump said he’d support cutting the corporate tax rate to 15% from its current level of 21%, a move Sen. JD Vance said he opposed two months ago before he became Trump’s running mate.

That difference reflects the difficulties in reconciling their ideologies, giving corporate America a bit of whiplash. The Ohio Republican has fashioned an image as an economic populist willing to confront Wall Street and other industry titans, which has unnerved some chief executives.

The 21% U.S. corporate tax rate is the biggest single variable in the sprawling 2025 tax debate, and the two parties are trying to turn that dial in opposite directions with major consequences for companies’ profits and federal revenue. 

The rate could climb as high as 28% if Democrats sweep November’s elections and move as low as 15% if Republicans gain full power.

Former President Donald Trump has seen his wealth soar by a half billion dollars thanks to some shrewd moves including moving to low-tax Florida, selling off assets, and paying down personal debts, according to a report.

Trump’s fortune has been valued by Bloomberg Billionaires Index at $3.1 billion, up from $2.6 billion in 2021.

A sizeable chunk of Trump’s wealth can be attributed to the rising property values of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach as well as his Doral golf resort in Miami, according to Bloomberg.

Whenever we have a national conversation about government debt, Democrats invariably respond that spending is not the reason the debt is now nearly equal to our national GDP. The real cause of our indebtedness, they inform us, is that taxes aren't high enough and the rich don't pay their fair share. From increasing the marginal tax rate to more than 70 percent for higher-income earners, to taxing 100 percent of income above $1 billion, to the president's recent debt ceiling plan, Democrats overflow with ideas about how to tax us more.

President Joe Biden criticized Big Oil companies for using record profits to pay for “corporate stock buybacks,” calling for the tax on such purchases to be quadrupled in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Yvon Chouinard, who started Patagonia in 1973 and turned it into an iconic $3 billion outdoor apparel empire, just gave away almost all of the private stock in the family-owned company to a nonprofit that will use the proceeds to fight climate change.

It’s a masterful bit of corporate maneuvering that will allow his family to effectively maintain control of Patagonia, direct billions toward climate advocacy—and almost entirely avoid taxes in the process.

Most of Patagonia’s shares—98%—are going to a nonprofit, meaning that Chouinard will not have to pay taxes on that gift.

Allen Weisselberg, a longtime Trump Organization CFO, pleaded guilty to 15 criminal tax fraud charges Thursday—admitting to conspiring in a scheme to avoid paying taxes on corporate benefits—marking a blow to the former president’s family business as it prepares for trial on related charges in October.

Weisselberg, who was indicted on tax fraud charges last summer, is charged with grand larceny and avoiding tax payments on more than $1.7 million in corporate benefits from the Trump Organization over the 16-year scheme, including car payments, school tuition and rent.