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Biden Seeks Boost in Capital Gains, Corporate Tax Rates

Posted on Oct. 24, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden renewed his call for raising taxes on capital gains and corporations during a campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

During an October 23 speech to highlight his economic proposals, the former vice president said he would generate enough federal revenue from the tax increases to pay for free tuition at community colleges for all qualified students.

Biden, who is leading his Democratic challengers for the presidential nomination by a 15-point margin according to a new CNN poll, renewed his pledge to pay for measures to address climate change by partially reversing the corporate tax cut provided in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Biden's plan would raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent. 

He also attacked the tax code for providing preferential treatment to some industries, noting that a special deduction for racehorses is among $1.6 billion in provisions he sees as loopholes in the tax system.

On the individual side, Biden said he would raise $17 billion a year in federal revenue by targeting the step-up in basis used to calculate capital gains on inherited assets. Biden said capital gains should be taxed as ordinary income at a rate of roughly 40 percent, but middle-income taxpayers should continue to get a tax break on capital gains on profits from home sales.

“We need to build an economy that rewards work, not just wealth, [and] reflects our values,” Biden said, arguing that richer Americans don't need tax relief and neither do corporations, which he said used the money from the tax cuts for stock buybacks and higher pay for chief executives.

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