Republicans won’t support tax hikes to fund Biden’s infrastructure plan, McConnell says
Proposal could impact individuals making more than $400,000 and raise corporate rates 7%
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday that Republicans were not likely to support any tax increases to fund President Biden’s next economic package.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any enthusiasm on our side for a tax increase,” McConnell said during a stakeout on Tuesday.
The Senate Minority Leader therefore said he expected Democrats would have to move forward with the plan using the fast-track process known as budget reconciliation, where they could theoretically pass the proposal without any Republican support.
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McConnell also predicted that Democrats would try to “jam everything they can” into the next bill under the guise of a massive investment in the nation’s infrastructure.
“I think the Trojan Horse will be called ‘infrastructure,’ but inside the Trojan Horse will be all the tax inquires … they want to [raise] taxes across the board,” McConnell said.
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Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, was the first to report that the Biden administration was planning the first significant tax increase in nearly two decades as it prepares to bring forward another economic package.
Those potential increases, which are expected to affect both personal income and corporate tax rates, will help support his vision for an infrastructure revamp and climate change measures.
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Biden has long advocated for raising personal income rates on the wealthiest taxpayers – those earning more than $400,000. He has also said he would like to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the corporate rate to 21% from 35%.
“This would be the most significant tax-raising piece of legislation in the last 28 years,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., said during the stakeout. “They say they want to raise all of this money under the guise of infrastructure. But infrastructure in the way that Democrats are using the phrase is just code for their climate agenda.”
The Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan using reconciliation, bypassing Republican resistance. Biden signed the bill into law last week.