Dec 4, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Joe Biden unveils $3.2 trillion tax plan

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

2020 candidate Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a plan to raise $3.2 trillion over a decade from tax increases in order to pay for his climate and health care proposals, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: Biden's plan demonstrates the political divide within the Democratic Party. His plan is markedly different from the aggressive tax measures pitched by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who want to raise around $20 trillion in new taxes over the next decade.

Details: Biden's plan would bump corporate taxes from 21% to 28% — still well below the 35% corporations were paying before Republican's 2017 tax cut. His campaign estimates that this would produce $730 billion in tax revenue over a decade.

  • It would also raise an estimated $800 billion over a decade from taxing capital gains as ordinary income for taxpayers with more than $1 million in income.
  • The plan also caps tax breaks for the wealthy at 28%, which he says would collect an estimated $310 billion in 10 years. It includes $400 billion in tax revenue from a 15% minimum corporate tax on companies that report a net income of more than $100 million.

What they're saying: "We have found smart and effective ways to pay for the bold changes the vice president is proposing‚" Biden's policy director Stef Feldman said, according to the Washington Post.

The big picture: Biden has already proposed a $1.7 trillion climate and infrastructure plan, a $750 billion health care plan and a $750 billion higher education plan, Bloomberg reports.

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