Reconciliation Deal Pulls Accounting Rulemaker Into Tax Politics

A panel of unelected accountants in suburban Connecticut would play an outsized role in shaping tax policy for the nation’s largest corporations under a provision inside Senate Democrats’ sweeping tax, climate, and healthcare bill.

The draft legislation uses a version of company income, as measured under US financial accounting rules, to determine what businesses owe in taxes. It’s designed to ensure that large companies making big “book” profits get taxed at a minimum rate of 15%. It puts pressure on what companies report in their financial statements, the rules for which are crafted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Any ...