President Joe Biden on Thursday doubled down on his ambition to boost low- and middle-income Americans through historic spending on his sweeping domestic agenda, a plan he said would be paid for by the wealthiest people in the country.

What You Need To Know

  • President Biden on Thursday doubled down on his ambition to boost low- and middle-income Americans through historic spending on his domestic agenda

  • Biden said his plan would be paid for by the wealthiest Americans and help everyday people through tax cuts and the expansion of benefits

  • The president accused Republicans who oppose his spending plan of favoring corporations over the middle class, saying that the U.S. faces a "fundamental choice" at the moment

  • The White House on Thursday also released a fact sheet about the president's proposal to enforce taxes owed by the wealthiest Americans, which they say could bring in billions each year

“This is an opportunity to be the nation we know we can be,” President Biden said from the East Room. “Let's not squander this moment trying to preserve an economy that hasn't worked too well for Americans for a long time.”

In remarks at the White House, the president first looked backward at his administration’s efforts to bring the economy back to life after the pandemic’s worst, then highlighted his current efforts to keep things moving through things like vaccine mandates and finally looked ahead to the hopeful passage of his bipartisan infrastructure bill and larger budget package of Democratic priorities, the details of which were fleshed out on Capitol Hill this week.

He painted the current moment as a “fundamental choice” about whether to move forward with an agenda he said would lift up everyday Americans through tax cuts and an expansion of the social safety net while relying on taxes from wealthier Americans for its funding. 

“My plan benefits ordinary Americans, not those at the top who don't need to help,” the president said.

The president on Thursday said that the top 1% of earners in the U.S. evade an estimated $160 billion in taxes per year. 

“How is it possible that millionaires and billionaires can pay a lower rate of tax than teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers?” the president asked.

The massive, $3.5 trillion spending package Democrats are hoping to push through Congress in the coming weeks includes things like an expansion of the child tax credit through 2025, an extension of Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing and blueprints for free community college and pre-kindergarten.

President Biden has reiterated that his red line is avoiding higher taxes on any American making under $400,000.

The administration’s proposal would instead raise the tax on high-income individuals to 39.6% from 37% and raise the corporate tax rate to 26.5% from 21%.

Biden on Thursday directly addressed Republicans who oppose his economic plan as “big spending,” noting how they supported tax cuts for corporations under former president Donald Trump and accusing them of favoring big business over the middle class.

“Each inflection point in this nation's history represents a fundamental choice. I believe that America at this moment is facing such a choice,” the president said. 

“Are we going to continue with an economy where the overwhelming share of the benefits go to big corporations and the very wealthy, or are we going to take this moment — right now — to set this country on a new path?”

President Biden’s funding proposal also includes a boost for tax enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service, which the White House says will help raise funds for the plan. If passed, the IRS would hire more enforcement agents, invest in new technology and be notified by banks of general information about account flows.

They would focus on the wealthiest Americans, especially those “who often earn their income in ways that don’t get reported to the IRS, unlike wages,” a White House fact sheet released Thursday read.

Audit rates on people making $1 million or more fell by 80% from 2011 to 2018 due to budget cuts, according to the fact sheet.