The Republicans are in a panic about President Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes.
Biden wants to raise taxes on those earning more than $400,000 per year. He also wants to go after bigger fish like corporations and billionaires who have benefitted from decades of Republican tax breaks and “special” loopholes.
His question is, why do billionaires and giant corporations pay dramatically lower rates on income than the average U.S. earner? There are more than two dozen corporations in the Fortune 500 alone that have paid zero taxes on profits for more than a decade.
Republicans point out that the top 1% pays 42.3% of revenue. They don’t point out that the top 1% holds 32% of all the wealth in the nation, or that the top 10% holds 68%, or that the bottom 50% holds 3%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is by far the wealthiest nation per capita that doesn’t offer universal health care or education through college (a key to increasing family income and wealth for those not wealthy enough to afford college). The current tax setup seems quite unfair.
ANDREW GALLIEN
Harahan
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