Who’s Number One?

If anyone doubts where Donald Trump’s priorities lie, you need to look no further than his actions on day one of his second term. On January 20, 2025, he signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the OECD global minimum tax. In that order, he declared commitments to the agreement had "no force or effect" in the U.S.

For those of you, like myself, who might say, “OECD, what the Hell is that?” just know that it was a historic international agreement finalized in 2021 by over 130 countries to overhaul how large multinational corporations are taxed. It was aimed to stop companies from shifting profits to tax havens. The agreement was designed to reallocate taxing rights so that large multinational companies pay taxes in the countries where they generate their revenue, even if they don't have a physical presence there. It Imposed a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate. If a company pays an effective tax rate of less than 15% in a foreign country, its home country is allowed to apply a "top-up tax" to bring the rate up to 15%.

So, on day one of term two, President Trump’s mind was on saving corporate multinationals from paying taxes on revenue derived in the U.S. The Trump administration would try to assert that he also issued a broad policy directive for consumers, his “Delivering Emergency Price Relief” memo. Most economists would say that, while it set administrative goals, it lacked immediate, enforceable mechanisms to force a reduction in consumer prices. The result was that corporate multinationals got to continue hiding from taxes while consumers got vague rhetoric and a promise to try to lower the cost of living.

Since that Trump “memorandum” to lower the cost of living, the CPI has gone up 4%. U.S. multinationals, however, avoided over $40 billion in income taxes in that same period. One of the companies that benefitted from this executive order, the Trump Organization. It has been able to utilize lower-tax jurisdictions, tax havens, and various domestic tax incentives without facing retaliatory tax penalties overseas.

The answer to the title question, “Who’s Number One?” can be answered very simply…, Donald J. Trump.