Biden is yet again proposing a minimum tax on billionaires, this time raising it to 25%. But the real challenge will be to get it past Congress.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
- US President Joe Biden is proposing a minimum 25% tax bracket for billionaires, per Bloomberg.
- He had previously called for a minimum 20% tax for the ultra-wealthy.
- Biden is set to release his proposal for the fiscal 2024 budget on Thursday.
US President Joe Biden is once again proposing higher tax rates on billionaires, wealthy investors, and companies in his budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
In his budget request to Congress scheduled to be released Thursday, Biden is calling for a minimum tax rate of 25% on billionaires, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed White House official familiar with the proposal. This will be a five percentage point jump over the minimum 20% tax rate that he called for previously. Axios confirmed the information in a Thursday report.
Biden is also proposing doubling the capital gains tax rate to 39.6% from 20%, per Bloomberg. Other changes Biden is proposing include an increase of the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, and increasing the top tax rate for Americans earning over $400,000 to 39.6% from 37%, according to Bloomberg.
The US President's proposal came after he renewed his call for minimum billionaire taxes in his State of the Union address on February 7. At the time, he was calling for a minimum 20% tax bracket for the super-wealthy.
"This minimum tax would make sure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters," the White House said in a fact sheet ahead of Biden's February speech. It said in the document that billionaires pay an average tax rate of just 8% in a typical year.
Even though Biden has been pushing for higher taxes for ultra-wealthy households since March 2022, the move is likely to face opposition from Republicans, who control the House of Representatives. The US President had been unable to pass tax hikes when Democrats held sway over both chambers.
Biden's 2024 budget aims to cut the US deficit by nearly $3 trillion in the next 10 years, Karine Jean-Pierre , the White House press secretary, said at a Wednesday press briefing.
The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.