Failing to sell his economic record to American voters, still furious about the (past) rise in prices, Joe Biden took advantage of the State of the Union speech to launch the tax battle. Accusing without naming Donald Trump of being the candidate of the richest and of wanting to further lower taxes, the Democratic candidate proposed on the contrary to tax billionaires and businesses more.
As in 2021, he gave the most left-wing speech in forty years for a Democrat, hoping to regain control over his troops. “There are a thousand billionaires in the United States. Do you know what the average federal tax rate is for these billionaires? 8.2%! That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay. No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a garbage collector or a nurse! This is why I proposed a 25% minimum tax for billionaires,” urged Mr. Biden in his speech.
The presidential candidate also proposed raising the corporate tax (IS) rate from 21% to 28% and demanded a minimum tax: “In 2020, 55 of America’s largest companies made $40 billion in profits and paid no federal income taxes. It’s finish ! It’s time to increase the minimum corporate tax to at least 21% so that every big business finally starts paying its fair share. »
He also wants to reduce the salaries of CEOs, which now reach 300 times that of their employees. “I want to end tax breaks for big pharma and oil, private jets and massive executive salaries! Stop now! » And to dream of what these sums could finance: “Imagine! “, Biden repeated several times, citing possible aid to families, children or the elderly. The posture is worth an electoral program, eight months before the elections. As the modestly writes Financial Times, “These proposals are unlikely to pass Congress, but aim to distinguish Biden’s progressive agenda from that of his Republican rival Donald Trump.”
The problem of the middle classes
The reality is quite complex. Biden continues to vilify Donald Trump’s 2017 tax reform. “The last administration passed a $2 trillion tax cut that massively benefited the very wealthy and the largest corporations and caused the federal deficit to explode. » But a large part of these reductions, which also benefit the middle classes, expire in 2025 and the next president will have to decide with Congress whether to extend all or part of this reform. “If Congress does not act, taxes will increase for the vast majority of American households », Tells CNBC Howard Gleckman, researcher at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “No politician wants this to happen. » No more Joe Biden.
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