Yellen proposes wide-ranging corporate tax changes to pay for infrastructure

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday presented a corporate tax hike plan linked to President Joe Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure investments that she said would raise about $2.5 trillion over 15 years.

Yellen suggested a substantial overhaul of the U.S. corporate taxation system, including establishing a minimum tax rate for dozens of companies that pay no U.S. corporate taxes and heightened auditing and enforcement of tax laws.

"The right approach to corporate taxation requires maintaining U.S. competitiveness while protecting the corporate tax base," a report Treasury issued before the call said. "Today, we fail on both counts."

Yellen ran though decades of U.S. economic history in a call with reporters before the plan was published, noting the falling share of company profits going to wages, how companies have stashed more profits in overseas tax havens, and how auditing of companies has dropped.

Treasury's suggestions include:

-Establishing a global minimum tax rate of about 21%.

-Repealing the 'export preferences'

-Establishing a 'minimum book tax' of 15% that all big companies pay

(Reporting by David Lawder and David Shepardson)