The final step has been taken: US President Joe Biden promulgated his vast investment plan on climate and health on Tuesday, August 16, bringing his Democratic camp an important political victory less than three months from legislative elections. decisive.
The biggest investment in the United States in the fight against climate change, the text provides for a series of financial incentives intended to move the American economy towards renewable energies, limits the price of certain drugs and creates a tax rate minimum on large companies.
“A country can be transformed. This is what is happening today”said Mr. Biden, in a speech with electoral accents delivered before signing this reform, called the Inflation Reduction Act, at the White House. “It’s about the future. It’s about bringing progress and prosperity to American families.”he said. “It’s about showing America and the American people that democracy still works in the United States. »
A new tax for large companies
The result of difficult negotiations with the right wing of the Democratic Party, the envelope includes the largest investment ever committed in the United States for the climate – 370 billion dollars (360 billion euros approximately) to reduce gas emissions to greenhouse effect by 40% by 2030.
The second part of this major investment plan intends to partially correct the huge inequalities in access to care in the United States, in particular by lowering the price of drugs. Medicare, a public health insurance system intended among others for those over 65, will for the first time be able to negotiate the prices of certain drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies, and thus obtain more competitive rates.
To finance these investments, the reform provides for the adoption of a minimum tax rate of 15% for all companies whose profits exceed one billion dollars. This new tax aims to prevent certain large companies from using the tax loopholes which have allowed them to pay far less than the theoretical rate.
According to estimates, this measure could generate more than 258 billion dollars in revenue for the US federal state over the next ten years.