As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden has led the charge against anti-competitive tax practices among US multinational companies. Wyden has targeted the pharmaceutical industry and helped raise pressure on lawmakers to support tax reform.
The US senator from Oregon has doggedly pursued companies over their tax arrangements. Companies such as Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck have faced questions from Wyden over their tax practices.
Since Wyden took over from Republican senator Chuck Grassley in February 2021, he has worked with the Biden administration to support a higher minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. This proposal was eventually approved in August 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Senate Finance Committee investigations helped pave the way for this legislative breakthrough, but this is not Wyden’s only contribution. He helped draft the 2021 Build Back Better bill, which later became the Inflation Reduction Act.
Wyden is expected to continue his fight into 2023, though the Democrats still lack a strong majority in the Senate and this leaves the Biden administration vulnerable to political opposition in its own party – never mind the Republicans.
This may mean that the Inflation Reduction Act will be the most significant legislation Wyden contributes to until 2024, even though the Senate investigations may still make waves.
