Sarah Anderson, Director of the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, will testify along with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and other experts. In her testimony, Anderson will urge members of Congress to consider a number of Wall Street-related reforms in 2025, when the scheduled expiration of provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will force a major debate over the future of the U.S. tax code. Anderson will highlight several proposals that would both raise much-needed revenue for public investment and encourage a greater focus on financial activities that support long-term sustainability and equity. These “twofers” include:

•  taxing excess CEO pay,
• enacting a financial transaction tax to curb unproductive short-term speculation that drains profits from ordinary investors, and
• raising the tax rate on wasteful stock buybacks that siphon resources from worker wages, R&D, and other productive investment.

As Anderson pointed out in a recent op-ed in The Hill, Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse’s proposal to increase taxes on companies with huge gaps between CEO and worker pay enjoys overwhelming support across the political spectrum, including among 77 percent of independents and 71 percent of Republicans. At the 10 largest banks, total CEO compensation averaged $24.2 million and the average gap between CEO and median worker pay stood at 254 to 1 in 2023, according to corporate proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “For too long, Wall Street has wielded excessive power to shape our tax code so their firms and executives can avoid paying their fair share and continue practices that benefit the few while putting the rest of us at risk,” said Anderson. “The 2025 tax debate is an opportunity to fix these problems, as part of a much-needed overhaul of our tax code to make our economy stronger and more equitable. The hearing will be livestreamed on the Budget Committee’s website.