US President Joe Biden has marked his first 100 days in office with a speech to a joint session of Congress. Photo / AP
US President Joe Biden has marked his first 100 days in office with a speech to a joint session of Congress. Photo / AP
US President Joe Biden has marked his first 100 days in office by proposing a massive tax raid on America's wealthy to fund multi-trillion dollar spending programmes, setting up a battle with Republicans, Wall Street and Silicon Valley.
Biden used his first speech to a joint session of Congress to detail his plans for increases in capital gains tax, corporation tax and income tax.
Republicans have called the scheme "economic sabotage" while business figures said it threatened to "kill the golden goose".
In his speech, Biden set out his US$1.8 trillion American Family Plan to provide national child care, paid family leave and free community college. It comes on top of his proposed US$2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, and his US$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
The family plan will be partly paid for by increasing taxes on profits earned from shares and other investments such as property owned by Americans earning more than US$1 million a year.
Some could see their tax rate on those investments roughly doubling to 43.4 per cent, the highest since the 1920s, according to the Tax Foundation, an independent research group.
The White House said the move would affect 500,000 people, or about 0.3 per cent of taxpayers.
Biden's infrastructure plan is to be partly funded by increasing corporation tax from 21 per cent to 28 per cent. He also plans to raise the top rate of income tax from 37 per cent to 39.6 per cent for those earning more than US$400,000.
Biden said in his speech that he's "not looking to punish anybody" but does intend to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
"The Americans Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America," Biden said. "And it recognises something I've always said: Wall Street didn't build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class."
Joe Biden's proposed tax changes will be aimed at the wealthiest Americans. Photo / AP
In addition, the President plans to clamp down on tax loopholes for the estates of wealthy families.
He will also announce an increase of up to US$80 billion over 10 years in the budget of the Internal Revenue Service, allowing it to audit the taxes of wealthy individuals, raising hundreds of billions of dollars.
Republicans and business leaders have expressed opposition to increases and said a rise in capital gains tax will discourage private investment.
Kevin Brady, the leading Republican on the House of Representatives tax committee, said: "This is another economic blunder. It punishes investment in local businesses."
Chris Christie, the former Republican presidential candidate, said: "It is nothing more than income redistribution. It's socialism."
Republicans are staunchly opposed to Biden's proposed tax hikes on the wealthy. Photo / AP
With his customary understatement Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, concluded: "A moderate he has not been."
Ted Cruz, a potential 2024 opponent, said Biden had proved "boring but radical".
Biden also faces potential opposition from moderate Democrats in the Senate, where the party's majority is on a knife edge.
