GOP senator: Raising corporate taxes is a 'non-starter'

Sen. Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Wellons Moore Capito Senate confirms Biden’s pick to lead White House environmental council Senate GOP to face off over earmarks next week Biden outreach on infrastructure met with Republican skepticism MORE (R-W.Va.) said Thursday that she wouldn’t support legislation raising corporate taxes, calling the idea a “non-starter” during a press conference.

“I voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It had the desired effect of bringing capital back into this company, no corporate inversions, higher wages, lower unemployment,” said Capito, referring to a 2017 bill that cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, when asked if Republicans would be open to any changes.

“I think that’s a non-negotiable red line,” she said. “For me personally, that’s a nonstarter.”

Other Republicans at the press conference expressed agreement.

The comments come as the White House has pitched raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent in order to pay for its proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure package.

How to pay for the package has been just one of the areas of debate between political parties, as Republicans have also criticized its size and scope

At Thursday’s conference, Capito, who is the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said that she believes the infrastructure bill should be limited to what she called “core” infrastructure.

“I said roads and bridges, I also mean…wastewater projects, our airport modernizations, broadband is a huge part of that,” she said.

President BidenJoe Biden House panel approves bill to set up commission on reparations Democrats to offer bill to expand Supreme Court Former Israeli prime minister advises Iran to ‘cool down’ amid nuclear threats MORE held a meeting with bipartisan lawmakers on the issue this week, though that meeting also took some criticism at the press conference.