As Trump tax cuts near expiration, CEOs meet with former presidents.

Donald Trump traveled to Capitol Hill today to meet with several top leaders at a business roundtable in Washington, D.C., as the expiration of tax cuts implemented under his administration looms. the horizon.

As the tax cuts near their expiration date, President Joe Biden is tasked with addressing their future, a decision that will have implications for the economy and the finances of individuals and businesses.

Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman breaks down the details,

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Video transcription

Former President Donald Trump just finished a meeting with dozens of CEOs in Washington.

And it comes as the Biden administration begins to unveil some details about how it will handle the expiration of the Trump tax cuts.

Your senior financial columnist, Rick Newman, is here.

Grindstone.

Hi guys.

Well, let's remember that some of the 2017 tax cuts are permanent and some are temporary.

So the corporate tax cuts, uh, which lowered the corporate tax rate to 21%.

It's permanent.

It won't change unless someone changes it.

What expires at the end of 2025 are all the individual tax cuts.

Um, and what Biden wants to do is let them go back to their previous levels for everyone except for people who make less than $400,000, households with less than $400,100,000, that's- i.e. this is Biden's threshold.

You hear this well below $400,000.

I think they chose that because it includes almost everyone in the US and it falls below that threshold.

So Biden can say: I don't want to raise taxes on anyone except the rich.

And these are people making over $400,000.

This battle is already underway.

I mean, the lobbying groups say it would be a disaster if they expire.

It would be a disaster if they remained in force.

What are the budgetary implications?

It's going to, you know, it's going to add $4 trillion to the national debt if we continue the tax cuts and so on.

So we're going to be talking about this a lot over the next 18 months.

Um, so CEO S was meeting with Trump today, and, you know, it's interesting when you say the corporate tax rate won't change unless the law changes.

It does not expire.

But, you know, there were a lot of traditional CEOs who were in this room with Donald Trump today.

So tell me about what they want or what they want. Maybe as you said in your story published today. What ?

What they have to fear from him.

Um, well, uh, so it wasn't Donald Trump calling CEO S and saying, Hey, do you want to get together?

The story continues

This was sponsored by the Business Roundtable, a huge business lobbyist in it.

They invited him and they invited President Biden.

So they're not playing favorites here?

Biden is in Italy, so he can't go.

But he, Jeff Zients, his advisor, went to address the group.

What the CEOs of big companies want is they want the corporate tax rate to stay where it is.

Um, there are other tax breaks that they would like to take advantage of.

There is one regarding research and development spending. Um, the costs, uh, it's in a bill that's currently on the Hill.

Looks like it won't happen.

They would like to get it.

I think Cor Corporate America is pretty happy with the tax situation in the United States right now.

I mean, they got a big ask when Trump lowered that rate from 35% to 21%.

In reality, no company headquarters have been transferred abroad.

The way we've seen the so-called inversions that have happened, uh, just to avoid the US tax system.

So it's pretty good.

I think they just don't want the tax rate to go up or lose some of those tax benefits.

And Biden?

For his part, uh, he would increase it, uh, to 28%.

That's, uh, that's what it was.

I mean, he campaigned on this in 2020 to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.

Um, he'd probably settle for 25%.

But just as a reminder, he couldn't achieve this even when Democrats controlled Congress.

Um, so he couldn't even get the votes for it when the Democrats had the ability.

So I think there's a good chance that 21 is where he stays.

But there will definitely be other changes, based on those that are set to expire.

And then there are the other things that Trump also does and that he offers to the business world.

And we've already talked about the fact that he says he's going to roll back the rules on electric vehicles, which is pretty fascinating, especially given his burgeoning friendship with Elon Musk.

Yeah, so that's what CEOs don't like about Donald Trump or some of the things that really worry them.

Um, so Trump says, Look, if I get another term, it'll be low taxes and light regulation and everyone says, Yeah, it's, uh, we like the fact that we like it.

Great.

Um, but here's what else you want to do.

He wants to add even more customs duties than him. When he was president the first time, he floated the idea that, I mean, it's not going to happen, but just to give you an idea of ​​his thinking, he floated the idea recently of completely eliminating the income tax.

The income tax brought in $2.2 trillion in federal revenue last year.

So he said: Get rid of it.

And let's make it all make up the difference through pricing.

So I just did the math on the back of the envelope.

Adding 58% tariffs to each of the $3.8 trillion in imports into the United States would result in massive distortions, price gouging, trade wars, and more.

You know, Trump can't repeal the tax code.

I mean, he can't repeal the personal income tax.

So that’s what CEO S doesn’t like.

And when you talk about electric vehicles, uh, it's not just electric vehicles.

This is all green energy infrastructure.

I mean, companies are raising billions and billions of dollars of capital because of the tax breaks they're getting through the IRA, the inflation reduction law that Biden signed in 2022.

And electric vehicles are here to stay.

I mean, his buddy Elon Musk, who runs Tesla, should tell Trump.

Um, they're not government vehicles, no.

Where the government doesn't force anyone to buy a Tesla.

Let's move on today, Rick.

All right.

We can have a bigger guy that we know can do.

He can do more than one thing at a time.

Lots of plates.

Yes, it's true.

That's right.

It runs everything, uh, so, uh and you know, Ford, GM, Chrysler and all the other auto companies have invested several billion dollars in electric vehicle processing plants.

Um, they don't want Trump to come and kill electric vehicles.

They would lose a lot of money.

Yes, the drama continues.

It will be.

Thanks, Rick.

Enjoy it.