Hot on the campaign trail, to the best of his ability, Vice President Biden is busy rolling out his campaign agenda. In a call with potential campaign donors, Fox News reported that Biden promised he would reverse most of President Trump’s tax cuts, and raise the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 29 percent. A repeal of President Trump’s signature legislation would raise taxes on the middle class and American corporations. Furthermore, it would return America’s corporate tax rate to being the highest in the world. As companies have slowly started to move back their headquarters to the United States after President Trump’s tax cuts, Biden’s policies could re-shift corporate structures back to the pre-Trump era. Biden would also reinstate the “death tax,” and a minimum tax on small businesses.
Biden has also vowed to issue a carbon tax, and wants Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the champion of the green New Deal, to help lead his campaign on climate change. This would increase gas prices nationwide.
The former VP has gone further than the former Democratic candidate’s tax increase proposal. Hillary Clinton vowed to raise taxes if elected as president by 1$ trillion over a ten year period. Biden, in contrast, wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion over the same time period. This would be the highest tax increase in US history.
Why this matters: As the economy suffers, and as Biden has secured his nomination for the Democratic Party, doubling down on his tax plan may affect his support from the middle class, especially in key swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Presidential campaigns often come down to what a voter thinks the candidate will do for the economy, and during a pandemic with small businesses and the middle class suffering, an increase in taxes seems like an impossibility. President Trump’s pre-COVID economy kept his base very much in favor of him, and it has been reported his campaign advisors worried how the economic downturn would affect his election. Now, as November approaches, a re-shift to the tax debate among other hot topic issues like security, immigration, and COVID responses will have a huge impact on voter turnout, and the candidate they support.
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