MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By Chad Day

A new proposal from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren would impose a hefty tax on corporations and trade associations that spend more than $500,000 lobbying the federal government each year.

The proposed tax, unveiled Wednesday, is part of what the Democratic presidential candidate has billed as her plan to "end lobbying as we know it." It is aimed squarely at large corporations and special interest groups, which Ms. Warren often castigates on the campaign trail as having too much power in Washington.

Under her latest plan, groups that spend between $500,000 and $1 million on lobbying annually would have to pay a 35% tax on those expenditures. The rate would increase to 60% for expenditures between $1 million and $5 million and top out at 75% for those exceeding $5 million.

Ms. Warren's campaign estimates that if the tax had been in place over the past 10 years, it would have been imposed on more than 1,600 companies and groups and produced about $10 billion in revenue.

Some of the largest U.S. companies and interest groups, including Boeing Co. (BA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Walmart Inc. (WMT), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would face the tax if they continued to lobby at their past levels, the campaign said. In announcing the plan, Ms. Warren singled out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the chief advocacy group for American corporations, noting it would have owed $770 million in taxes on $1 billion spent on lobbying between 2009 and 2018.

Under the proposal, revenue from the tax would go to a newly created Lobbying Defense Trust Fund. The fund would spread money to agencies targeted by lobbying, increase the budget for the Congressional Budget Office and help pay for a new Office of the Public Advocate, which Ms. Warren said would promote the public's interest in the federal rule-making process.

Write to Chad Day at chad.day@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2019 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024