Corporate America is mad that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — which may actually reduce inflationary pressures over the long term, if not now — will raise its taxes. The Financial Times has a nice collection of bleats from their trade associations:

The bill would impose “significant new tax increases and unprecedented government price controls”, the US Chamber of Commerce warned. Its tax provisions would deal “a blow to our industry’s ability to raise wages, hire workers and invest in our communities”, said the National Association of Manufacturers.

The Business Roundtable, which represents blue-chip companies in Washington, estimated that the package would impose $300bn of new costs on industry just as the economy was turning downhill.

The Chamber’s policy director, Neil Bradley, offered some perspective: “If 2017’s tax reforms were a 10 and Build Back Better [BBB, Joe Biden’s original plan] was a zero, where is this? I guess I’d say it’s a five. It didn’t cut taxes; it raised taxes, but it’s a lot better than Build Back Better.”