Cost of Democrats’ Corporate-Tax Increase Skews to Wealthy, Reaches Middle Class

Middle-income Americans have built up less savings, lost more in the market downturn and face higher average inflation in 2022. WSJ’s Dion Rabouin uses three key data points to explain. Illustration: Ryan Trefes

WASHINGTON—When Congress raises corporate taxes, companies send money to the Internal Revenue Service. The economic impact doesn’t end there.

What happens next—and how much of that higher tax burden falls on workers—is at the center of the Senate debate over Democrats’ fiscal agenda. Republicans and business groups, who oppose the proposal, point to official estimates showing tax increases for middle-income households.