Today’s tax filing deadline, delayed by the coronavirus crisis, is bringing a renewed focus by Republicans on Democrat Joe Biden’s plans to upend President Trump’s tax cuts, costing Americans about $1,200 each, and his lavish spending on new programs that could cost over 500,000 jobs.
“This Tax Day, Americans have a clear reminder that while President Trump has time and again delivered on his pledge to cut taxes and expand opportunities for American families, Joe Biden’s radical plan would impose tax hikes on millions of hardworking families,” said Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
In a broad attack on Biden, the party today is using videos, opinion articles in several languages, and an army of surrogates in several states to remind the nation of Trump’s tax cuts, including killing the Obamacare “mandate” that landed heavily on younger, lower-income Americans, and Biden’s promises to reverse them.
“Joe Biden’s extreme tax agenda would hurt the economy, kill American jobs, and force the ‘Great American Comeback’ we have seen under President Trump to come to a screeching halt,” said McDaniel in a preview of the effort for Secrets.
The Tax Day fight pits Trump’s “Great American Comeback” campaign against Biden’s theme of “Build Back Better.” Trump, for example, has promised a new payroll tax cut to put money in the pockets of Americans while Biden has backed infrastructure and green energy spending, which the Democrat believes will add jobs.
We’re facing an economic crisis and a climate crisis.
As president, I’ll create millions of jobs building resilient roads and bridges, manufacturing electric vehicles, and weatherizing homes and buildings.
Learn more: https://t.co/VS3yoJmSzQ pic.twitter.com/IZIfHPTCjU
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 15, 2020
The White House and Trump-Pence campaign believe that since the administration was able to push the economy and employment to new highs before the virus, voters are already willing to accept that it can do it again. Plus, they are banking on expectations that, in the current crisis, voters won’t vote for anyone who wants to raise taxes.
Other critics are also joining in. Americans for Tax Reform, for example, has listed several Biden tax hike promises on its website that includes a video compilation of his pro-tax statements.
The party’s effort is mostly focused on the payoffs of the 2017 tax cuts, which were immediately controversial and a Democratic political target. Democrats have claimed that most of the savings went to high-income Americans and businesses.
In a new video, the Republican National Committee said that in promising to repeal the tax cuts, Americans would have to pay an average of $1,200 more a year to the Treasury Department, or about $100 a month. It said the tax increase would hit 82% of Americans.
Biden has also promised to raise the capital gains rate to its highest ever, and another report cited by the RNC said that it would cost over 500,000 jobs.
And his pledge to expand healthcare and reduce or end fossil fuel in a just-announced $2 trillion plan would lead to massive taxes, said the RNC.
“The contrast is clear — Joe Biden wants the government to take more of our hard-earned money, while President Trump is fighting for us to keep it,” said McDaniel in a statement.
