Biden Would Expand Estate Tax, Raise Corporate Tax Rate

Requiring the wealthiest Americans to shoulder more of the tax burden and restoring the estate tax to “historical norms” top Democratic presumptive candidate Joe Biden’s tax policies.

In his recently released 110-page economic plan, former Vice President Biden states that the nation’s “tax system has been rigged against the American people by big corporations and their lobbyists … . A guiding principle across our tax agenda is that the wealthiest Americans can shoulder more of the tax burden, including in particular by making investors pay the same tax rates as workers and bringing an end to expensive and unproductive tax loopholes.”

The sweeping tax overhaul signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2017 increased the estate tax exemption. It was $5.49 million in 2017, and the law more than doubled it to $11.58 million for 2020.

Corporate tax rates, “which were cut sharply by the 2017 Republican tax cut, must be raised, and ‘supply-side’ or ‘trickle down’ tax cuts must be rejected,” Biden said.

He would also limit the ability of wealthy taxpayers to defer and avoid taxes on income “(especially that relate to financial investments) and tax liabilities of ultra-large banks to promote financial stability and fund investments in American productivity.”