“Is that spelled badly?” Sinema asked, according to Danny Seiden, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, who relayed the call to CNN.
“It gave me hope that she’s willing to open it up and maybe improve it,” Seiden said.
Sinema’s office declined to comment on the call. But he has also raised concerns about other tax provisions — specifically the increase in taxes on so-called carried interest, which would affect private equity and hedge fund managers and raise $14 billion in the Democratic bill. Sinema has told top Democrats that he wants that provision out of the bill, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Sinema, the lone holdout among the 50-member Senate Democrats who was blindsided by news of the deal last week, refused to put her hand one way or the other on the bill — giving conservatives critics of the bill reason to believe they could persuade her to change her mind. Democrats remain confident they can win her over, but they also acknowledge they may need to make some changes — particularly on tax provisions — to get her to vote yes.
But as she is in talks with Democrats who have touted the benefits of the bill, Republicans such as Senate Minority Whip John Thune have raised concerns with her about corporate taxes and a proposal to hire new IRS agents to step up tax enforcement.
“He breaks it down,” the South Dakota Republican said of Sinema. “She keeps her own counsel, I think as most of you know, and she usually makes her own decisions, pretty much regardless of any pressure she might get from any side. You know, so I think she’s going through that process right now .”
At a news conference Wednesday where Republican senators railed against the proposed tax increases, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said senators privately made the same case to Sinema.
“We are making this case that we presented to you today as aggressively as we can,” Crapo said.
On Wednesday, Sinema told CNN she was in no rush to announce her position on the bill. “I’m taking my time,” he said. Its spokesman reiterated that Cinema was waiting for the Senate’s review to be completed before announcing its position.
But last fall, Sinema signaled its support for a minimum corporate tax, saying at the time that it was a “common sense” proposition to ensure that “very profitable companies” pay their fair share of taxes. The proposal was developed last fall with her input after she rejected calls to raise corporate income tax rates, a Democratic aide said Wednesday.
Speaking privately with Sinema on Tuesday, Seiden voiced the business community’s opposition to the 15 percent tax provision, noting that it would particularly hit manufacturers who benefit from an accelerated depreciation tax credit that lowers their tax burden. (Seiden said National Association of Manufacturers president Jay Timmons was also on the call; a NAM spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Seiden told CNN that Sinema “didn’t put her hand down” on any specific provision, asked for more information on how the bill affects Arizona, but asked this question, which gave him hope that she would be open to amending it with somehow the tax proposals of the bill.
“She didn’t tip her hand, her hat, in any way, shape or form,” Seiden said. “It was a pure listening moment for her, gathering information, asking for information, as any good representative would.”
Meanwhile, he hears arguments from both sides. On the Senate floor Tuesday night, several senators from both parties approached the senator, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.
Democratic leaders acknowledge they are unsure where it will land.
“He hasn’t told me or given me any indication of where this bill is going,” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip, said of a recent conversation he had with the senator. “We need her, we need every vote, so I hope she’ll be with us.”
While Democrats say the bill would make sure big companies don’t avoid paying taxes by instilling “fairness” into the tax code, the Arizona Chamber president argued that a minimum corporate tax makes the code “overly complicated.” Seiden said raising taxes during a recession is especially unpopular and would add more uncertainty to the market.
“The meeting went great,” Seiden said of his call with Sinema. “She knows that our businesses are struggling, because of inflation, because of supply chain issues. So anything that’s going to affect or make it worse or stop the economic growth that we’ve seen, she’s very sensitive to that.”
Seiden thanked Sinema for its work on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and recent legislation boosting semiconductor manufacturing, but said “the celebration of the chip law is short-lived” if some of the tax provisions remain untouched in bill negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
Seiden said he would like to see some of the energy and environmental pieces passed without the “poison pill” tax provisions, acknowledging that some in the energy sector support provisions such as tax credits for electric vehicles. Nikola Corporation and Lucid Group, two electric vehicle manufacturers, operate in Arizona.
The companies hope that Sinema, the crucial 50-50 vote in the Senate, will make changes to the bill, pointing to its previous statements.
In April, Sinema told the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, “I’m not prepared to support any tax policies that would put a stop to that kind of economic growth or stop business and personal growth for America’s industries.”
“You all know, the whole country knows, that I am opposed to raising the corporate income tax,” Sinema said. “That was true yesterday and it is true today.”
Sinema has already effectively pushed back on raising personal and corporate tax rates in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill, a cause under attack from the left.
If she doesn’t support the bill, a potential 2024 challenger has warned it will come back to haunt her.
“I think there will be some consequences at the ballot box for her,” said Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who has expressed interest in possibly running a primary against Cinema.
John LaBombard, a former Sinema spokesman, said Sinema is looking for “good, effective policy that is not going to have unintended consequences” and will be “impervious” to political considerations.
“I haven’t met anyone more impervious to political pressure than Kyrsten Sinema,” LaBombard said.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments on Wednesday.
CNN’s Jessica Dean and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.