Politics

Joe Biden Says He Won’t Get Rid Of All Of Trump’s Tax Cuts – Just Cuts For The Wealthy

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Thursday he doesn’t plan on eliminating all of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts – just those that apply to top earners.

“That’s what I’m talking about elimination, not all the tax cuts that are out there,” Biden said during an ABC town hall, in reference to tax cuts for the top 1%, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Biden then pulled out a “card” that noted facts and figures on tax rates and further explained that when he said he’s eliminating the tax cuts, he meant for the top 1%.

“Trump tax cuts, about $1.3 trillion of the $2 trillion of the tax cuts went to the top 1/10th of 1 percent – that’s what I’m talking about eliminating,” he said. (RELATED: Here’s How Much Taxes Will Increase If Biden Gets Rid Of Trump’s Tax Cuts)

Biden also said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% after Trump lowered it to 21%.

Biden announced a tax proposal plan in September that would change the corporate tax code to encourage investment in the U.S. Under Biden’s plan, the corporate tax rate would be raised to 28%, and corporations would pay an additional 10% surtax on profits for manufactured goods and for services.

Biden’s plan would also eliminate offshore tax loopholes added in 2017 that allows U.S. companies to protect their foreign profits from full taxation.

Prior to the passage of the 2017 tax cuts, there was a “worldwide” corporate tax system that taxed global earnings of U.S. based companies, according to the Tax Foundation. However, this discouraged companies from bringing their foreign profits back to the U.S. and encouraged companies to move their headquarters out of the country. Trump instead adopted a “territorial” tax system, and created two new categories of income that are taxed at a lower rate than the current 21% corporate rate to make up for lost revenue, per the Tax Foundation.

Biden’s comments clarify an earlier remark made by his running mate, Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris. During the vice presidential debates, Harris said “on day one” the Biden-Harris administration would repeal the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but wouldn’t raise taxes on people making less than $400,000.

However, Vice President Mike Pence pointed out that repealing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would mean eliminating tax breaks for lower earners.