(RepublicanInformer.com)- President Joe Biden is going to face a challenge from a member of his own party in his quest to raise corporate taxes.
Centrist Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, said earlier this week that he wouldn’t support Biden’s proposed tax increases on corporations. The increased taxes are one of the main ways Biden had planned to raise revenue to fund the more than $2 trillion infrastructure plan.
If Biden’s plan had bipartisan support, Manchin’s opposition to it might not be that big of a deal. But with just about every Republican in both chambers of Congress opposed to it, Manchin’s vote almost becomes the most important one.
On Monday, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could amend their budget reconciliation bill that they used to pass Biden’s economic stimulus package earlier in March. This means that they could, in effect, pass major parts of Biden’s infrastructure plan without any support from Republicans in the Senate.
They wouldn’t need the full 60 votes in support to avoid the filibuster. They would only need a majority — or 50 votes, with all Democrats supporting it and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.
Now, though, it seems Manchin is going to put quite the wrench in that plan, unless Biden decides to change his mind on how the bill is going to be funded.
Biden’s proposal includes raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. It would also increase the global minimum tax on American companies from roughly 13% to 21%.
The White House was planning to use the increase in corporate taxes to fund a large portion of the investments they want to make to the nation’s transit systems, hospitals, schools, bridges and roads over the next 15 years.
Manchin believes that the 28% tax rate is too high and would damage the competitiveness that American companies now enjoy. His suggestion was raising the tax rate to only 25% and simultaneously closing loopholes in tax law that currently allow wealthy Americans to avoid paying taxes.
During a radio interview with West Virginia MetroNews, Manchin said:
“As this bill exists today, it needs to be changed. Bottom line is, that’s what legislation is all about. This bill will not be in the same form you’ve seen introduced or seen people talking about.”
Manchin understands the power he wields in the Senate as a Democrat who sides with conservative thinking on certain topics. In his interview, he said:
“If I don’t vote to get on it, then it’s not going anywhere. So, we’re going to have some leverage here. It’s more than just me. There’s six or seven other Democrats who feel very strongly about this. We have to be competitive, and we’re not going to throw caution to the wind.”
The White House tried to calm the nerves of liberals everywhere by saying that they welcome input and feedback from all members of Congress on bills. But, they have to be at least a little scared that Biden’s second major bill might not go anywhere at all.
