Here's how that big D.C. tax bill hits corporate Chicago
Senate Democrats' passage of a sweeping tax bill over the weekend will require most of corporate Chicago to dig deeper to pay Uncle Sam, with the area's pharmaceutical players appearing to be hit the hardest of all.
The measure, which passed 51-50 on a strictly partisan basis in the evenly divided chamber and is expected to clear the House and get President Joe Biden's signature, would hike tax revenues by well over $300 billion over a decade. Central to that is a minimum corporate tax of 15% of the annual income earned by companies making at least $1 billion. Another key component is a 1% excise tax on share buybacks.
Those companies ensnared in the minimum tax will shoulder considerably more of the tax burden than the far broader set that will pay the new buyback tax.
Arguably most exposed of the Chicago area's largest corporations is North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories. The pharmaceutical giant's effective tax rate has ranged from 9.6% in 2019 to 13.9% last year, according to Securities & Exchange Commission filings.