DeepSummary
The episode discusses President Biden's campaign promises to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy, contrasting it with the reality that he has actually cut taxes more than he has raised them during his first term. Jim Tankersley, an economic policy reporter for The New York Times, explains that while Biden proposed trillions of dollars in tax increases on the rich and corporations, very few of those proposals have been implemented due to lack of Congressional support.
Instead, Biden has signed into law a number of tax cuts, including stimulus checks, child tax credits, corporate tax incentives for manufacturing and renewable energy investments, and electric vehicle tax credits. These tax cuts total around $600 billion according to tax policy analysts.
For a potential second term, Biden is campaigning on an ambitious tax increase agenda targeting the wealthy, corporations, and various forms of wealth beyond just income. However, Tankersley suggests that the political reality of getting such increases through Congress, even with a Democratic majority, would be extremely difficult.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- President Biden campaigned on raising taxes for corporations and the wealthy, but has presided over substantial net tax cuts in his first term.
- Biden's few tax increases, like stock buyback taxes, were dwarfed by tax cuts for individuals, corporations investing in key industries, and renewable energy incentives.
- For a potential second term, Biden is proposing an ambitious tax hike agenda targeting the wealthy and corporations that would be historically large in scope.
- However, Biden's proposed tax increases face major political hurdles getting through Congress, even if Democrats retain control.
- Promising to tax the rich and corporations more is seen as a winning political message for Biden, even if the legislative reality makes enacting those hikes challenging.
- Biden's tax policies reveal a disconnect between his populist "fair share" campaign rhetoric and the pragmatic compromises required to pass legislation.
- Tax incentives and cuts are being used as tools to spur domestic manufacturing and push climate/energy policy goals in Biden's agenda.
- The expiration of Trump's individual tax cuts in 2025 sets up a political battleground where Biden hopes his tax plan will resonate with voters.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The promise was he was going to raise taxes.“ by Jim Tankersley
- “It turns out the answer is he has not raised taxes on that. He has cut more taxes than he's raised.“ by Jim Tankersley
- “By the math that economists use when they look at budgets, the traditional way of scoring tax changes, he has cut taxes by $600 billion on net.“ by Jim Tankersley
- “I think we could very fairly say that it's the largest tax increasing plan by a sitting president or a presidential nominee for a party in american history.“ by Jim Tankersley
Entities
Person
Company
Product
Book
Organization
Episode Information
The Daily
The New York Times
4/3/24
In his campaign for re-election, President Biden has said that raising taxes on the wealthy and on big corporations is at the heart of his agenda. But under his watch, overall net taxes have decreased.
Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains.
Guest: Jim Tankersley, who covers economic policy at the White House for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- An analysis prepared for The New York Times estimates that the tax changes President Biden has ushered into law will amount to a net cut of about $600 billion over four years.
- “Does anybody here think the tax code’s fair?” For Mr. Biden, tax policy has been at the center of his efforts to make the economy more equitable.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.