Biden doubles down on billionaire tax plan, homebuyer tax credit
LAS VEGAS - President Joe Biden reiterated his proposal for tax hikes and to create a tax credit that would give homebuyers $400 per month.
What is Biden's billionaire tax plan?
The president is pushing for a 25% minimum tax rate on U.S. households worth more than $100 million, or about 0.01% of Americans.
"No billionaires should pay a lower tax than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse, anybody busting a neck," Biden told a crowd Tuesday at a stop in Las Vegas.
A previous billionaire minimum tax introduced by the president targeted both the income and unrealized capital gains of the ultra-wealthy.
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The president is laying out the tax hikes as part of his sweeping budget blueprint for federal spending in fiscal 2025, which begins in October. The higher taxes would be borne largely by Wall Street and the top sliver of U.S. households.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 20: A view of Billionaires' Row and midtown Manhattan during a sunrise as seen from the Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards on the first day of spring on March 20, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
However, the proposal, along with other proposed tax plans, are unlikely to garner support in a deeply divided Congress, and face almost certain rejection from Republicans who control the House.
Altogether, the tax hikes would reduce the federal deficit by about $3 trillion. Money from steeper taxes would also help to pay for expensive new programs floated by the president, including a monthly tax credit to help some homeowners offset steep mortgage payments, subsidies for child care and lower prescription drugs.
How can Biden help homeowners?
Citing rising housing costs., Biden’s plan would create a $10,000 tax credit, spread out over two years and credited in the form of $400 monthly payments for first-time homebuyers and those who sell their starter homes.
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"I want to provide an annual tax credit, will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years, as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy their first home, or trade up for a little more space if they come from a middle class background Biden continued.
Biden is calling on Congress to create legislation that would give this tax credit to the middle-class, saying it would be the equivalent of reducing interest rates by 1.5 percentage points. By making it available to those who buy their second home, the administration said it will improve housing supply for those in the starter home market.
The United States is slogging through a housing affordability crisis that was decades in the making. At the root of this problem: America failed to build enough homes for its growing population. The shortage strikes at the heart of the American dream of homeownership — dampening President Joe Biden's assurances that the U.S. economy is strong and underscoring the degree to which Republican Donald Trump, the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for 2024, has largely overlooked the shortage.
The lack of housing has caused a record number of renters to devote an excessive amount of income to housing, according to a Harvard University analysis. Not enough homes are for sale or being built, keeping prices elevated. Average mortgage rates have more than doubled and further worsened affordability.
The Associated Press and FOX Business contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.