Joe Biden was still campaigning to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Much of the news coverage was focused upon the stark contrast between his plan and those made by more progressive competitors. CNBC’s report about his plan was dubbed “wealth taxes wars.” The following is an example: Washington Post The headline noted that Biden’s $3.2 trillion tax plan highlighted “divisions” with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.). The most striking of these divisions was the fact that Sanders and Warren had refused to support a wealth tax for the wealthy.
Biden was adamant about this contrast on the campaign trail. One of the most common criticisms of the Warren and Sanders wealth tax proposals was their punitive nature, which taxed the wealth of a narrow, limited group. He SubmittedLos Angeles’ wealthy supporters were told by him that they should not expect any tax cuts from him but there would be no punishment.
A CNBC reporter also appeared around the same moment. Ask Biden about arguments—some of which came from experts friendly to Democrats—that the wealth taxes proposed by his rivals would be unworkable and punitive. Biden responded that some parts of the plan could be criticized and accepted them. Biden complained about the divisive nature of tax policy and rejected the notion of “a single tax on one group of people”. Biden had already stated that tax policy was not about punishing people earlier in the interview.
Biden ran as the moderate candidate in the race. He wanted to be independent from progressives. Therefore, he rejected the notion of tax policies that were divisive, punitive and possibly unworkable.
Biden is now embracing a wealth-tax of his own as President. Biden’s latest budget proposal proposed what the White House called the “Billionaire Minimum income Tax.” This tax applies to all income realized or unrealized for households with a household worth over $100 million. The Biden administration is framing this as a form of “prepayment” on future capital gains—which is to say it’s a form of taxation on money that someone has not actually seen, based on the value of their holdings. Although it is not the exact same as Warren’s wealth taxes, Sanders and Biden have proposed a similar concept: taxation on personal wealth rather than cash income. This often involves assets with high-value.
Many of the same critiques applied to Sanders and Warren plans are still valid. Biden’s plan won’t raise as much as they assume. Wealth taxes can be extremely difficult to manage and require a lot of resources. This is why many OECD countries who have introduced wealth taxes ended up removing them. You should also consider Very likely that it will not be constitutional. It would, at the minimum, be charged with criminal offenses if it is passed.
It’s unlikely that it will pass. This makes the exercise all the more absurd. Biden’s most recent wealth tax proposal forms part of the White House’s annual budget proposal. It is more of a wishlist than an actual path forward.
The White House’s desperate economic policy of imposing a wealth tax on Biden is therefore a desperate gimmick. Biden’s closest allies know this. His administration attempted to persuade congressional Democrats late last year to include a wealth-tax in one the major spending bills. At the time, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.) reportedly So calledIt was “a publicity stunt.” It’s just what you think it is.
This is a publicity stunt that tells us something about Biden’s leftward tendencies, as well as his conduct in office, considering his opposition to it.
Biden is willing to make an obvious phony of himself, embracing a policy he knows is punitive, divisive, unworkable, and virtually certain not to pass—and he’s willing to do so simply to get attention. Biden, not only is he not moderate but he also is clearly not trustworthy.