President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act could result in Delaware losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Monday, the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council projected corporate law changes in that bill will cost the state $400 million over the next two years.
The concern is strong enough to prompt some state lawmakers to seek a special session now to address the issue by decoupling state and federal corporate tax returns before some changes take effect January 1.
Democratic State Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris (D-Dover) is one of those voices.
“Whatever we do, we are going to make sure that the corporations do not get to rip the livelihoods out from under the people of Delaware,” Harris said. “And instead, we are able to continue to sustain our classrooms, our healthcare centers, etc., and going even though we're in unstable times. Just like in Covid, we will come out on top.”
Gov. Matt Meyer (D) backs a call from some Democratic lawmakers to return to Dover now to change tax laws and mitigate those losses before they go into effect January 1.
“It is a problem that we here in Delaware – Democrats and hopefully Republicans as well – are going to come together and solve, hopefully through a special session that will decouple with federal tax law,” Meyer said on DPM/WHYY's Ask Gov. Meyer Thursday night.
Harris added her colleagues in the House are prioritizing long-term solutions to mitigate other cuts affecting Medicaid, social services like food assistance programs and public schools.
Delaware has already seen federal funding cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which require the state to make up the difference starting as soon as January.
A bill addressing the tax difference is still in the works, Harris said.
“The timing of when a bill is passed is still up in the air,” Harris said. “Nothing is off the table as far as options regarding the timing of getting a bill passed… And what we can guarantee is that whatever we put forward will be a stabilizer for the people of Delaware and our economy and make sure that we are able to weather the storm that we're currently in.”
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed in Congress in July.
