'Pass my proposal for a billionaire minimum tax,' Biden tells Congress
Following remarks on his attempts to build out a "hollowed" middle class, Biden shifted to discussing his goal of making billionaires and corporations pay more in taxes.
"Corporations ought to do the right thing … That's why I propose that we quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks to encourage long-term investments instead."
"Let's finish the job and close the loopholes that allow the very wealthy to avoid paying their taxes," he said, urging Congress: "Reward work, not just wealth. Pass my proposal for a billionaire minimum tax."
House Speaker McCarthy, however, has pushed back. He said on Monday when speaking on the debt ceiling: "Defaulting on our debt is not an option but neither is a future of higher taxes."
Biden's new proposal comes after a sticking point in the Inflation Reduction Act's passage, a 1% excise tax on share buybacks that was added to the landmark bill in order to move forward.
Democrats stripped from the bill a tax break favoring wealthy hedge-fund managers called the "carried interest loophole" before its passage.