UPS rallies behind U.S. Senate’s tax reform bill to slash corporate tax rate

UPS is publicly backing the latest version of the U.S. Senate’s tax reform bill, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” calling the draft, “a critical step in finding compromise on a tax structure that has not been updated in more than 30 years.”

The Senate version, released last week after multiple delays, features a 15-percent-point cut in the corporate tax rate, from 35 to 20 percent, which could add billions of dollars to UPS’ bottom line, if enacted.

“From our perspective, it’s clear – when GDP increases, more people ship packages — this translates into more planes, more vehicles and more people to sort and deliver,” said UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney. “With a lower and permanent corporate tax rate, and a competitive international tax system, our economy will see accelerated GDP growth, investment and job creation.”

UPS is now calling on the House and Senate to work together to resolve disparities in their respective versions of the bill, to move the bill forward, allowing President Trump to sign it into law and “make America more competitive in the global marketplace.”

Republican leaders are confident that they have the votes to pass their sweeping tax reform in the House as early as this week. However, that means the House and Senate versions will need to be reconciled, making it’s unlikely that the version backed by UPS will make it to the president’s desk in its current form.

The bill also faces stiff resistance from Democrats in Washington, D.C., who have called the plan “lopsided,” “favoring wealthy Americans” and corporate interests over the middle class.

“Both the House and the Senate bills would raise taxes on millions of middle-class families, particularly in the suburbs, while providing a huge giveaway to corporations and the wealthy,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.