• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
PoliticsU.S. Politics

Democrats float largest tax increase in decades to fund Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget

Nicole Goodkind
By
Nicole Goodkind
Nicole Goodkind
Down Arrow Button Icon
Nicole Goodkind
By
Nicole Goodkind
Nicole Goodkind
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 13, 2021, 7:01 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Senate returns from their August recess this week armed with a major directive handed down from the White House: Get infrastructure done, and get it done quickly. 

Democrats on the Hill will spend the next few weeks hammering out the details of their proposed $3.5 trillion budget resolution that will fund President Joe Biden’s massive “human infrastructure” plan. That means figuring out how exactly they intend to spend the money and also where they’ll get that money from. 

Over the weekend, details on how Democrats want to fund the bill came to light in a five-page memo sent around by Hill aides that outlined $2.9 trillion in tax increases proposed by House Ways and Means Democrats, the largest increase in decades. Sources familiar with Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal’s unreleased plan outlined the proposal, which will include a number of measures to launch bargaining off of. 

About $1 trillion, or roughly one-third, of the funding will come from high-income Americans. Democrats will propose raising the top individual rate to 39.6%, where it was before President Donald Trump cut taxes in 2017. The top capital gains rate would also be increased from 20% to to 25%.

Other interesting proposals would be a 3% surtax on individuals with adjusted gross income in excess of $5,000,000. Wealth taxes like this had been proposed by several progresive candidates during the presidential primaries, and would mark a radical shift in tax policy within the United States.

Corporate tax rates would increase from 21% to 26.5% for businesses with income in excess of $5,000,000. Small businesses with income below $400,000 would see their rate lower to 18% and all of those in between will have their rate remain the same, at 21%. Neal estimates this change will provide $540 billion in extra revenue. 

Neal would also raise taxes on overseas profits from multinational corporations and tighten estate tax rules. 

While Republicans and moderate Democrats will likely find fault with the initial proposals, the plan is already a pared back version of what the White House originally proposed. The Biden administration had floated taxing inheritances of the ultra-wealthy and more aggressive corporate tax increases. The White House is in support of Neal’s plan and spokesperson Andrew Bates said Sunday evening that it “makes significant progress toward ensuring our economy rewards work and not just wealth.”

Still, most Republicans and some Democrats will be hard to sway. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) raised concerns about the bill and will likely try to scale back the spending. “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession—not an economy that is on the verge of overheating,” he said in a statement. Manchin has also said he would not support a corporate tax hike to 28%. 

When pressed, Manchin refused to give specifics on what size spending bill he would be willing to support. His lack of clarity is a troubling development to Democrats who will need every member of their party and a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris to pass the spending bill.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke out against Manchin’s actions around the bill on Sunday, saying ​​”I don’t think it’s acceptable to the president, to the American people, or to the overwhelming majority of the people in the Democratic Caucus.” 

If passed, the resolution would provide funding for much of Biden’s social agenda: a historic expansion of Medicare, expanding the child tax credit, providing paid medical and family leave, changing the tax code, taking climate action, and possibly even making changes to immigration law.

Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning.

About the Author
Nicole Goodkind
By Nicole Goodkind
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Politics

Sam Altman and Donald Trump.
AIOpenAI
OpenAI agrees to stagger rollout of its most powerful model to only Trump-approved customers
By Eva Roytburg and Beatrice NolanJune 26, 2026
42 minutes ago
gr
PoliticsElections
Anthropic and OpenAI waged a $27 million proxy war in a Manhattan congressional race. The winner told them both to get lost
By Sasha RogelbergJune 26, 2026
53 minutes ago
z
PoliticsElections
A Brookings paper just accidentally explained Zohran Mamdani
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
3 hours ago
One chart explains the economy’s terrible baby boomer hangover, Gen X’s invisibility, and millennial and Gen Z irrelevance
Economybaby boomers
One chart explains the economy’s terrible baby boomer hangover, Gen X’s invisibility, and millennial and Gen Z irrelevance
By Tristan BoveJune 26, 2026
4 hours ago
m
PoliticsNew York City
Mamdani lives up to campaign promise, freezing rent for about 1 million New Yorkers
By Anthony Izaguirre, Nick Lichtenberg and The Associated PressJune 26, 2026
4 hours ago
lb
PoliticsCongress
Leon Black says Epstein’s network included Elon Musk, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel, while saying ‘I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde’
By Joey Cappelletti and The Associated PressJune 26, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
2 days ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
3 days ago
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
Economy
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
13 hours ago
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
Economy
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
By Eva RoytburgJune 25, 2026
23 hours ago
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
Economy
Trump turns on Big Oil donors who spent nearly $100 million to get him elected—now he wants the DOJ to investigate them for price gouging
By Tristan BoveJune 25, 2026
24 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 25, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.