Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King introduced legislation that would capture taxes from more than 1,000 big U.S. companies that report high profits but may have little taxable income, ensnaring a much larger group than President Joe Biden has proposed, though at a lower rate.

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, proposed a 7 percent tax on book profits for corporations with earnings of $100 million or more. The pair hopes to include the new tax in a multi-trillion–dollar reconciliation package that includes much of Biden's economic agenda, and that Democrats hope to advance later this year.

Biden has proposed a 15 percent minimum book tax for companies earning $2 billion or more in annual profits. Warren and King believe they can earn the signoff of the White House because their proposals use similar methods to reach similar ends. The tax would be paid by an estimated 1,300 companies, Warren said.