In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden is expected to propose increasing taxes on Wall Street and billionaires.
Key Details
- President Joe Biden will give his third State of the Union address tonight—Tuesday, February 7, at 8pm CT.
- A key provision of tonight’s address will be defending President Biden’s economic record.
- Among his agenda is a plan to revive his proposed tax on high earners and billionaires, and taxing “unrealized investment gains,” according to The Financial Times.
- He will push harder against Wall Street, proposing to increase his 1% levy against corporate stock buybacks to 4%.
Why It’s Important
President Biden has made it a point of his presidency to challenge big finance, corporations, and high-income earning individuals. In March 2022, he proposed a 20% minimum income tax rate for Americans worth more than $100 million. It did not pass the Democratically controlled congress. A similar proposal attached to the Inflation Reduction Act didn’t pass.
His full proposal for a new billionaire tax isn’t clear yet, but it is highly unlikely that it will pass the Republican House of Representatives. This wouldn’t be the first time Biden has passed a bill or executive order, knowing it is unlikely to pass. It is possible that this was the calculation he made with his executive order on student loan forgiveness—passing a popular order for posturing and political benefits before an election, fully knowing the courts would overturn it.
A key provision of tonight’s address will be defending President Biden’s economic record. A White House spokesman on Monday mentioned that the address would push the success of the labor market—highlighting low employment rate—and his fight against inflation—which remains high, though it is down from a high of 9.1% in June.
Notable Quotes
“This minimum tax would ensure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters,” says a statement from the president.
