House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced a fresh hurdle Friday to passing President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion dollar domestic policy aspirations, as nine moderate Democrats threatened to derail a budget blueprint crucial to opening the door to much of that spending.
The real test will be when Democrats write and vote on subsequent legislation actually enacting the party’s priorities into specific spending and tax policies.
The measure lays the groundwork for separate legislation later this year that over a decade would pour mountains of federal resources into Democrats’ top priorities, with much of it paid for with tax increases on the rich and corporations.
Nearing decision time, senators are wrapping up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan, and talks were under way late Thursday to expedite consideration and voting on the nearly $1 trillion proposal.
At least a dozen profitable major U.S. companies paid little or no U.S. income tax in 2020 but are active in industry groups that object to helping fund with taxes the same public projects they want to profit from.
The proposal to go after taxpayers who skip out on income taxes initially had potential bipartisan appeal, but outside groups came forward to lambaste it as a way to enable the IRS to snoop around Americans’ personal finances.
Democrats see this as a landmark program along the same lines as Social Security. But many Republicans warn that the payments will discourage parents from working and ultimately feed into long-term poverty.
Overall tax collections came in about 14% higher than a year ago, giving Indiana a surplus of almost $3.9 billion and triggering a tax refund.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he and President Joe Biden are on the same page as Democrats draft a “transformative” infrastructure package unleashing more than $3.5 trillion in domestic investments on par with the New Deal of the 1930s.
The agreement announced Thursday is an attempt to address challenges presented by a globalized and increasingly digital world economy in which profits can be relocated across borders.
The support line for individual income tax returns received about 85 million calls, with only about 3% reaching a customer service representative, according to the taxpayer advocate report.
The group had been narrowing on a much smaller but still sizable $1 trillion proposal of road, highway and other traditional infrastructure projects.
President Joe Biden wants to increase taxes for corporations and those households making more than $400,000 a year. Republicans have ruled that out, putting forward alternatives that Democrats find unacceptable.
Half of the total in the $6 trillion plan is expected to be paid for with Biden’s proposed taxes on corporations and those earning more than $400,000.
The president and the Democratic leaders have been engaged in a two-track strategy—reaching for a bipartisan deal with Republicans but also setting the stage for a potential majority-rules strategy in case talks fail.
Lawmakers say the group’s tentative agreement represents important progress in fashioning a bill that can pass such an evenly divided Congress this year, but they are also aware that it could easily unravel.
The bill would boost investment in roads and bridges by about 54% with an emphasis on fixing existing infrastructure. It would dedicate about $4 billion to electric vehicle charging stations and would provide record levels of investment for pedestrian and cyclist pathways.
President Joe Biden is trying to break a logjam with Republicans on how to pay for infrastructure improvements, proposing a 15% minimum tax on corporations and the possibility of revenues from increased IRS enforcement as a possible compromise.
Privately, the president has sized up the GOP’s latest $928 billion offer as unworkable, in large part because it taps unused COVID-19 funds. Instead, Biden wants to hike the corporate tax rate—a nonstarter for Senate Republicans—to generate revenue for his $1.7 trillion package.
The Noblesville City Council approved vehicle excise and wheel taxes Tuesday to generate $1.8 million in annual revenue starting next year. The money is slated to pay for a portion of the city’s estimated $113 million Pleasant Street extension project.
