Laura Davison

After more than a year of stop-and-start negotiations, Democrats agreed to a narrow bill to invest in energy initiatives, curb drug prices and reduce the deficit, paid for by new corporate taxes.

President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are the biggest winners now that a huge piece of Democrats' economic agenda is hurtling toward enactment.

The legislation aims to prevent large corporations from exploiting tax breaks to pay little if any tax, and it would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time.

A top Democrat pushing for a new minimum tax on companies invoked fresh data showing more than 100 profitable U.S. corporations paying an average tax rate of just 1.1% as a showcase for the initiative.

The path was nearly cleared for one of the cornerstones of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda after Democrats agreed on a revised version of their tax and climate bill.

The Arizona Democrat, a pivotal vote in the Senate, is asking to drop a provision from the bill that would scale back a tax break for fund managers, known as carried interest.

The Joint Committee on Taxation found that some middle- and low-income households could pay $16.7 billion in additional taxes next year as a result of the draft bill.

Now that Senator Joe Manchin is on board with a $433 billion tax and climate bill, Democrats, Republicans and the private equity industry all are trying to suss out where the Arizona lawmaker stands.

About half of a new alternative corporate income tax would be paid by companies that self-identify as manufacturers.

Senator Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have struck a deal on a tax, energy and climate bill, breaking a deadlock on the Democrats’ long-sought legislation to enact major parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda.