President Joe Biden appears poised to paint Republican front-runner Donald Trump as a friend to the wealthy and large corporations as part of a plan to draw a sharp contrast between his economic vision and the former president's in his State of the Union address Thursday night.
In a fact sheet released by the White House on Thursday, hours before Biden's prime-time address to the nation, Trump is mentioned five times while "fair/fairer" earns 18 mentions. It also seems to be driven by a Democrat poll released Wednesday.
A snapshot of policies that Biden is set to proffer in a second administration focuses on taxes:
- Raising the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%
- Increasing a new minimum tax on large corporations from 15% to 21%
- Ending corporations' ability to deduct compensation costs on employees making more than $1 million annually
That last item, the White House posits, would raise $270 billion over 10 years.
"Since taking office, President Biden has fought to build a fairer tax system that rewards work, not wealth; asks big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share; and requires all Americans to play by the same rules and pay the taxes they owe," the fact sheet read.
Further, in remarks made by White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard on Wednesday, there was a nod to supply-side economics — increasing wealth of the rich to increase their spending in society — in touting Biden's economic vision.
"The president will describe how far we've come since he took office three years ago and the work that lies ahead to build our economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down," Brainard told reporters, prompting speculation that Biden could hit Trump on "trickle-down" economics.
Biden is also expected to land blows on Trump's signature tax reform law, 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires at the end of 2025. The winner in November takes the mantle on extending or destroying that.
"Republicans have proposed making all of President Trump's tax cuts permanent, while refusing to pay for them by increasing taxes on big corporations or the wealthy. Instead, they would rather add trillions to the national debt than take back even one dollar of the $150 billion annual rate cut corporations received under President Trump," the fact sheet stated.
Biden will continue to support tax cuts for families making less than $400,000 but will oppose extending or restoring tax breaks for those making more than $400,000.
Biden will also push for those worth more than $100 million to pay 25% of their earnings in taxes.
A Democrat donor poll released Wednesday by Blueprint shows Trump is vulnerable to attacks on two economic fronts: 1. Trump will let rich tax cheats off of the hook. 2. Trump would cut taxes for the rich but not working- and middle-class families
Republicans are waiting.
"President Biden's reckless spending agenda is a threat to our national security and America's way of life," House Budget Committee Republicans said in a statement Wednesday. "It threatens to destabilize today's economy and rob future generations of Americans of the blessings of liberty that make our nation exceptional."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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