House leadership and top Republican tax writers doubled down on their rejection this week of an international tax provision within an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) framework, as the Treasury advanced rules that may help companies avoid it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), among others, wrote a letter Tuesday to OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann arguing that the provision, known as the undertaxed profits rule (UTPR), would “surrender U.S. tax sovereignty.”

They blasted the Biden administration for pressing ahead with negotiations on the international deal without congressional approval.

“The Biden-Harris administration lacks the authority to impose any tax deal on Americans without the approval of the U.S. Congress — doing so would violate the United States Constitution. For these reasons, we continue to oppose the OECD global tax deal,” they wrote.

But despite the contrarian rhetoric from Republicans, the Biden administration started a rulemaking process last week that could allow U.S. multinationals to get around paying the UTPR.

Also known as a “top-up tax,” the UTPR would let countries increase taxes on a parent company if a subsidiary in a separate jurisdiction........

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