To: Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11)

Rep. Miller: End Corporate Tax Breaks for Outrageous CEO Bonuses

Currently, corporations can deduct multi-million dollar CEO bonuses from their income taxes. With a shrinking middle class and fewer well-paying jobs, no corporation should get a tax break for shelling out obscene bonuses to CEOs. We urge you to take action to close the performance pay loophole and end tax incentives for excessive CEO pay.

Why is this important?

Right now, huge corporations, like Walmart, are getting tax breaks for handing out obscene CEO bonuses.

The tax code sets a $1 million limit per executive for the amount of pay that corporations can write off their income taxes. But the problem is that there’s a loophole that exempts “performance-based” pay.

So, corporations are shelling out huge CEO bonuses to pay less in taxes. For example, during the past six years, Walmart pocketed $298.6 million in fully deductible “performance pay,” lowering the company’s federal tax bills by $104 million.

At a time when so many Americans are struggling to find well-paying jobs and pay for basic things like healthcare, education, and housing, it’s wrong and unacceptable to give corporations tax breaks for shelling out multi-million dollar CEO bonuses.

It’s time to close this performance pay loophole and end tax incentives for outrageous CEO pay.