Senator Whitehouse hopes compromise will close tax loopholes used by large corporations

PROVIDENCE — With tax reform one issue that congressional Republicans and Democrats might agree on this year, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse announced Monday his plans to introduce three bills aimed at making the super rich pay more through a “fairer” tax system and closing loopholes that allow some corporations to avoid paying any tax.

Whitehouse, a Democrat, said the three measures, which target “some of the worst excesses in the tax code,” could raise more than $310 billion over 10 years for such things as road and bridge repairs and reducing the budget deficit. The extra money would make it easier for the federal government to offer corporate tax breaks to companies such as Rhode Island-based CVS, which pays its full share of taxes.

One bill, the Paying a Fair Share Act, would end loopholes that allow America’s top earners to often pay a lower tax rate than middle-class workers.

The measure, which Whitehouse has previously proposed, is often referred to as the Buffett Rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who famously lamented that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

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