Biden mulls first tax hike since 1993 to pay for economic stimulus
Analysts expect a number of 2020 campaign taxation pledges to be announced as part of long-term stimulus
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden is allegedly mulling the first federal tax hike since 1993 to reboot the American economy and pay-off the costs of future programmes at the same time.
The US president is due to propose spending more than the $1.9 trillion (£1.36 trillion ) Covid-19 relief bill approved by Congress on longer-term initiatives, with tax hikes as a source of funding.
As reported by Bloomberg, the Biden administration is thought to be considering a whole suite of tax rises mostly targeting the wealthy — although it will not introduce an outright tax on wealth to pay for future bills.
“His whole outlook has always been that Americans believe tax policy needs to be fair,” said Sarah Bianchi, a former economic adviser for Mr Biden and head of US public policy at Evercore ISI.
“He has viewed all of his policy options through that lens, [and] that is why the focus is on addressing the unequal treatment between work and wealth,” Ms Bianchi told Bloomberg.
Read more:
Trump fans mocked for praising his ‘dreadful’ appearance at Mar-a-Lago event
House Democrats says they won’t co-operate with Republicans who made false election fraud claims
Frustrated Fauci urges Trump to tell Republicans to get vaccinated
Some of the future initiatives to be proposed by Mr Biden include investing in infrastructure and the climate, as well as addressing systemic imbalances in the country’s tax system.
The US president promised during the 2020 campaign to only introduce tax rises for those who brought-in more than $400,000 (£287,000), while revoking a Trump-era tax break for big business.
Four people with knowledge of the Biden administration’s proposals told Bloomberg that other 2020 campaign promises, including a 28 per cent tax for corporations, are also being discussed.
Although no date has been set for announcing the first tax hikes in almost thirty years, the Biden administration has indicated in the past that it would follow the signing of the Covid-19 relief bill.
According to Bloomberg, analysts believe that tax rises could raise between $2 trillion to $4 within a decade, helping to fund the Biden administration's spending.
So far, 60 per cent of Americans say they support the US president’s handling of the economy, as revealed by a recent CBS-YouGov poll on Monday.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments