President Biden on Thursday called for raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to boost a sagging economy afflicted by rising inflation and slow hiring, and he vowed to unleash the IRS upon the well-to-do, Trend reports citing Washington Times.
Mr. Biden said the nation’s economy has reached “an inflection point” in which the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations are skirting their responsibility to cover the cost of government safety net programs.
“Big corporations and the superwealthy have to pay their fair share of taxes,” Mr. Biden said at the White House. “It’s long overdue. I’m not out to punish anyone, I’m a capitalist. If you can make a million or a billion dollars, that’s great. All I’m asking is to pay your fair share.”
Mr. Biden said he is ordering the IRS to crack down on wealthy Americans who are exploiting tax loopholes or not paying taxes altogether. He repeated his campaign promise that Americans earning less than $400,000 won’t be affected by the proposed tax hikes and the crackdown.
The top 1% of Americans choose not to pay $160 billion in taxes per year, but the IRS doesn’t have the resources to pursue tax evaders, Mr. Biden said. Audit rates on those making $1 million a year or more fell by 80% between 2011 and 2018, a White House fact sheet said.
By not ponying up, the president said, the affluent and corporations have left middle-class families behind, unable to get ahead because of the rising cost of child care, prescription drugs and education.
Mr. Biden also wants to raise the top individual marginal tax rate, the capital gains rate and the corporate tax rate.