President Joe Biden wants to spend more next year on the "fight against russian aggression" in Ukraine and against crime in the United States, according to his budget project published on Monday, which also proposes raising taxes on the richest.
The White House budget proposal for 2023 (covering the period from October 1 to September 30), a total of $5.8 trillion, details the Biden administration’s spending priorities for the coming year.
"Send a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, security at home and abroad, and the investments necessary to continue our equitable growth and build a better America."said the president when presenting the plan.
But it is only a request addressed to Congress, which ultimately holds the keys to government funds, and the package will be subject to numerous amendments in both chambers, which are narrowly controlled by Democrats and are divided into a series of themes.
The Biden administration proposes a "minimum tax" what "It would only apply to the richest 0.01% of households – those with more than $100 million – and more than half of the income would come from billionaires alone."the White House said in a statement.
"This would guarantee that in one year they pay at least 20% of their total income in income taxes."he added.
The left wing of Biden’s Democratic Party has long called for a tax on the income of billionaires to fight inequality.
A similar proposal was considered last year as part of plan negotiations. "build back better" (Build Back Better), a vast environmental and social spending bill.
But the Biden administration gave up on it in October to try to salvage the plan, which ultimately stalled due to divisions among Democrats in Congress.
The 2023 budget also plans to increase the corporate tax rate to 28%, reversing legislation passed in 2017 by the previous administration of former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021), which lowered it to 21%.
"Although their profits soared, their investment in our economy did not: tax breaks did not reach workers or consumers"justified the White House, which stressed that the new rate remains the lowest for large companies since World War II, except in the years after the 2017 tax cut.
Washington recalled having also supported an agreement negotiated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that establishes a minimum tax of 15% for companies worldwide.
The Biden administration points out that the budget proposal contains additional measures to ensure that multinational companies operating in the United States cannot use tax havens to reduce the global minimum tax.
crimes and weapons
The White House is also proposing $6.9 billion to help the NATO Atlantic alliance and the "fight against russian aggression" to Ukraine, as well as an additional 1 billion in assistance to kyiv.
If Congress adopts the budget, this amount would go on to increase other aid already disbursed in favor of Ukraine.
The funds would be used to "enhance the capabilities and readiness of US forces, NATO allies and regional partners in the face of Russian aggression" to Ukrainian sovereignty, the White House reported.
A sharp increase in defense spending is likely to upset the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Nationwide, the plan includes $3.2 billion to increase the number of police on the ground and $30 billion to fight crime.
The Biden administration also wants to increase resources to combat gun violence with an allocation of $1.7 billion.
It has also budgeted $1.4 billion for the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).
"This investment restores the historic role of the United States as the World Bank’s largest donor to support the development of low- and middle-income countries."reported the White House, which claims to be convinced that contributing to global stability, mitigating climate and health risks is beneficial to the United States and Americans.
