The Trump administration is enacting substantial tax cuts for some of the nation's most profitable companies and wealthiest investors, with minimal public oversight. The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are issuing new notices and proposed regulations that provide tax breaks to private equity firms, cryptocurrency companies, foreign real estate investors, insurance providers, and various multinational corporations.

A primary focus of these changes is the corporate alternative minimum tax, a provision established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which aimed to ensure that highly profitable corporations, such as Microsoft and Amazon, contribute a minimum federal income tax. This tax was projected to generate $222 billion over a decade but is now expected to yield significantly less due to the recent regulatory changes.

These tax breaks are in addition to the approximately $4 trillion in tax cuts signed into law by President Trump in July 2017, which primarily benefited businesses and the ultrawealthy, contributing to an increase in the federal deficit and resulting in cuts to essential services for vulnerable populations.

The Treasury's recent actions have raised concerns among tax experts regarding the potential overreach of its authority, as it appears to be enacting unlegislated tax cuts. Critics argue that this undermines the constitutional principle that Congress should determine tax law. The Treasury's moves have been met with approval from tax planners for large corporations, who view the new guidelines as providing significant opportunities for tax avoidance.

In addition to the corporate alternative minimum tax, the Treasury and IRS have also granted new tax relief to foreign investors in U.S. real estate and rolled back regulations that previously prevented multinationals from claiming duplicate losses in multiple jurisdictions. These actions are expected to further reduce tax revenues, contributing to the federal deficit without the same level of accountability required of congressional legislation.

The alternative minimum tax was designed to apply to a limited number of corporations with profits exceeding $1 billion annually, requiring them to pay taxes if their effective rate fell below 15 percent. However, industry lobbying has led to numerous exceptions, diminishing the expected revenue from this tax.

The recent regulatory changes have also benefited cryptocurrency firms, which successfully lobbied for exemptions from the minimum tax. This has raised concerns among lawmakers about the preferential treatment afforded to certain industries, particularly in light of the broader implications for tax equity and revenue generation.

Overall, the Treasury's actions reflect a continuation of policies that favor large corporations and wealthy individuals, raising questions about the long-term impacts on federal revenue and social equity.