Charles Morgan Biden Wants To Raise Taxes To Pay For Infrastructure Bill, But Says He’s ‘Open To Other Ideas’

Plus: Unemployment Claims Climb To 719,000 After Hitting Pandemic Low Last Week

Topline

President Joe Biden is proposing to pay for a massive infrastructure plan by hiking the corporate tax rate, but he said Wednesday he remains “open to other ideas” for financing the proposal, in a sign he’s hoping for bipartisan negotiations as Republicans remain skeptical of tax increases. 

Key Facts

During a Pittsburgh speech in which he unveiled a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, Biden suggested increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and imposing higher taxes on multinational companies, a plan he said would generate more than enough revenue for his infrastructure ideas.

Still, Biden said he’s willing to negotiate on this plan, as long as it doesn’t result in a tax hike for people making under $400,000 per year.

He said infrastructure spending should be a “bipartisan undertaking,” vowing to invite Republican lawmakers to the White House to discuss their ideas.

The infrastructure package will need some Republican support to pass the Senate, which is divided 50-50 between the two parties, unless Democrats try to use the body’s budget reconciliation rule for the second time this year.

Key Background

Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” aims to spend $2 trillion on modernizing the country’s transportation network, water systems, power grid and other infrastructure, a daunting plan he says can be financed through tax increases instead of borrowing. His corporate tax hike would partially reverse former President Donald Trump’s rollback of taxes on companies, though it stops short of returning to the pre-Trump 35% rate. Biden also wants a global minimum tax on multinational companies and tighter rules for deductions. In the past, he’s called for increasing the top tax rate for people making over $400,000, though it’s unclear whether he’ll push for a personal tax hike in this infrastructure bill.

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