Joe Biden has a new budget that includes “Billionaire’s Tax,” a return of the expanded child tax credit, and much more – In a proposal that stands no chance of enactment in a divided Congress, the president on Thursday unveiled his budget, which features an ambitious spending agenda
President Joe Biden on Thursday introduced his latest federal budget proposal, the first to arrive in the portion of his presidency in which the federal government is divided.
As has been the case in recent history, the president’s budget is not meant to be enacted as is, but rather to serve as a messaging document and stating of the administration’s priorities.
The budget is a total of $6.8 trillion. According to CNN, one of the headline proposals is a “billionaire’s tax,” which would impose “a 25% minimum tax on all the income of the wealthiest .01% of Americans, including their appreciated assets,” only applying to those with a net worth of over $100 million.
The proposal would also increase the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, while also repealing the Trump-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Biden Has Big Ideas
Also part of the budget is the idea of reviving 2021’s expanded child tax credit and shoring up Medicare Part A.
That tax credit, signed into law as part of that year’s American Rescue Plan Act, mandated monthly payments to most American families for most of that year, and despite efforts by the Biden Administration to extend it, it expired at the end of 2021.
The new budget plan would also fund universal preschool and affordable child care, while also creating a national paid family and medical leave program. These programs, among others, are beyond anything that passed during the two years that Democrats had control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
There is also money in the budget for addressing climate change.
“For example, money would go toward creating clean-energy jobs and cutting energy bills for families, funding climate research and helping communities become strengthen their infrastructure to withstand floods, wildfires, storms and drought brought on by climate change,” CNN said of this portion of the bill.
“The investments would also help achieve Biden’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% by 2030.”
The budget is also meant to end tax breaks for offshoring and to prevent American companies from parking profits overseas.
Joe Biden Wants to Attack the Deficit
The White House also says the budget would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over ten years.
“President Biden believes that investing in America, growing the economy from the bottom up and middle out, lowering costs for families, and reforming our tax code to reward work and not wealth are economic and fiscal imperatives. Strong and shared growth that benefits all Americans isn’t just good for the economy; it will also lead to better fiscal outcomes,” the White House said.
The billionaire tax proposal had been reported on by Axios the day before. It added that the budget would “close a loophole that allows some wealthy investors with ‘passthrough businesses’” to avoid paying tax on their investments.”
Once again, the budget is “dead on arrival” with the Republicans who now control the House, per the New York Times and other media outlets. It is also described as the “first salvo” in the fight over the debt limit, which is set for sometime later this year.
“President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted today. “He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs. Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, NOT a revenue problem.”
To make clear once again: The budget proposed by Joe Biden on Thursday will not ever be signed into law. It’s possible that some aspects of it will survive in an eventual agreement with the Republicans, but Biden lacks the votes to pass his budget as is.
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Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
