Biden may bump income taxes to 39% for high-earning Americans to pay for an infrastructure package
- Biden is reportedly considering raising taxes to nearly 40% for high-income earners.
- The White House is weighing how to finance an infrastructure and jobs package.
- Republicans are resisting introducing tax hikes that would offset another big bill's cost.
President Joe Biden is seeking to finance a major infrastructure and jobs package in the months ahead, and it appears increasingly likely tax hikes will be among the bill's key components.
The Biden administration is reportedly considering a tax increase on both high-earning Americans as well as big corporations, White House aides told Axios.
That appears in line with Biden's pledge to focus tax hikes on certain large businesses and wealthy individuals. Biden doubled down on that during an ABC News interview which aired Wednesday.
"Anybody making more than $400,000 will see a small to a significant tax increase," Biden said, while vowing that those earning below that amount wouldn't experience "a single penny in additional federal tax."
The president was confident he could muster enough Democratic support for a tax increase as well.
During the campaign, Biden laid out an economic plan to increase taxes on the top income bracket to 39.6%. He has also sought to partially repeal the 2017 Republican tax law and raise corporate taxes from 21% to 28%. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated the pair of measures would raise just over $1 trillion in revenue.
Still, the move is already sparking Republican resistance. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed GOP support for any tax increase on Tuesday. He labeled a coming infrastructure package a "Trojan horse" aimed at implementing many progressive priorities in lieu of focusing spending on roads and bridges.
The White House still hasn't laid out an infrastructure package, though Congressional Democrats are in the early stages of assembling one.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reiterated on Thursday that Biden wants to raise taxes on certain Americans. She declined to lay out a timeline to implement it and said the administration would work in concert with Democrats on Capitol Hill.
"His interest is in ensuring that people pay their fair share - whether it's corporations or the highest-income earners in our country," Psaki said. "He believes that hard work should be rewarded and this is one of the areas where there is an opportunity to rebalance how our policies are currently."