The Trump administration is actively pursuing significant regulatory changes that threaten the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT), a measure established under the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2022. The CAMT mandates that highly profitable U.S. corporations pay a minimum tax of 15% on their reported book profits, which are the figures disclosed to shareholders.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has noted that corporations often exploit various tax breaks to report significantly lower profits to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) than those reported to investors. This discrepancy allows corporate leaders to minimize their tax liabilities while presenting a more favorable financial picture to the public.

Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has introduced guidance and regulatory proposals aimed at weakening the CAMT. This initiative is perceived as advantageous to corporate entities and affluent private equity investors, particularly at a time when the Trump administration is also targeting essential programs for low-income individuals, such as Medicaid and nutrition assistance.

Reports indicate that the administration's tax relief measures are projected to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in additional benefits to large businesses and investors, compounding the effects of previous tax cuts enacted under the Trump-GOP budget law in the summer of 2025.

The U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to draft regulations that facilitate the IRS's enforcement of tax laws established by Congress. However, the aggressive regulatory actions taken by the Trump administration have raised concerns regarding potential overreach of its legal authority.

In a letter dated September 8, 2025, addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a coalition of Democratic lawmakers and Senator Angus King of Maine expressed alarm over the administration's guidance, which they argue creates new loopholes in the CAMT for the wealthiest corporations. They highlighted that Notice 2025-27, issued in June 2025, permits companies to evade the CAMT if their income, calculated through a simplified accounting method, falls below $800 million. This threshold was previously set at $500 million by the Biden administration to ensure that corporations that should be subject to the CAMT were not exempted.

The lawmakers criticized the lack of justification for raising the safe harbor threshold to $800 million, expressing concern that this change would enable more affluent corporations to avoid fulfilling their tax obligations.

In addition to tax policy changes, the Trump administration has also significantly reduced the regulatory capacity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was established to oversee the financial technology sector and protect consumers from deceptive practices. Under the Trump administration, the CFPB has ceased investigations into several fintech companies, leading to concerns among consumer advocates about the potential risks to millions of Americans who rely on these services. Critics argue that without adequate oversight, consumers may face increased exploitation and financial harm, raising questions about the future of consumer protection in an increasingly complex financial landscape.