19/08/21

US: New York progressive groups urge support for Biden tax plan.

As published on ny1.com, Thursday 19 August, 2021.

Sixty-seven progressive organizations in New York are signing on to a letter urging members of Congress to back President Joe Biden's tax plan in the coming weeks as a sweeping domestic agenda seeks to move forward in Washington.

It's a sign progressive organizations are mobilizing for the passage of a key domestic plan for the Biden administration, the success of which remains very much in doubt amid skepticism over the spending in the plan and the effect of the tax increases.

Supporters argue the measure would aid Americans at a time when the economy is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Now is the time to unrig the tax system and rebuild our economy so that everyone has a meaningful chance to prosper, care for their families and secure the future for coming generations," the groups wrote in the letter.

The plan, which includes increasing the corporate tax rate, curbing offshore tax havens for corporations and creating a minimum corporate tax as well as higher taxes on upper income earners, would raise trillions of dollars that in turn would pay for programs to fund housing, child care and higher education.

The package would follow the approval of a major infrastructure bill that gained bipartisan support in Congress. This measure, however, is unlikely to attract the same level fo Republican backing, if at all, and will require virtually all Democrats to back the measure in the narrowly divided House and U.S. Senate.

The groups, which include a range of organizations like the Working Families Party, Make the Road New York and Strong Economy for All, pointed to the popularity of the proposals and increasing corporate taxes.

"President Biden’s Build Back Better proposals provide Congress a historic opportunity to move toward an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy and corporations," the letter states. "The president has proposed long-overdue investments that will create good-paying jobs, rebuild communities and expand opportunities for working families that will reduce inequality."