President Joe Biden will highlight his economic record and lay out plans to reshape the tax system and reduce the deficit in his State of the Union address Thursday.
Biden is expected to double down on his economic populism by pushing his regulatory and antitrust policy ahead of an expected rematch against former President Donald Trump in November.
Biden will propose to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%. Trump lowered the rate from 35% to 21% with his 2017 tax law. Biden will also call for raising the 15% corporate minimum tax to 21% when he unveils his budget next week that will reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, according to a senior administration official. Biden previously passed a 15% minimum corporate tax rate in his 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Biden will also tout measures he took to lower prescription drug costs and crack down on junk fees. His administration in recent weeks has called on grocery stores to lower prices and accused some companies of shrinkflation, where consumer products become smaller in quantity, size or weight while their prices stay the same or increase.
In his address, Biden will put forward a series of proposals to expands the supply of housing and lower costs for renters and homeowners. Some of the housing proposals will require congressional action, according to a senior administration official.
Among the guests sitting in First Lady Jill Biden’s viewing box Thursday will be United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain. President Biden joined Fain and UAW workers while striking against automakers last year, becoming the first sitting president to join a picket line.
Biden has in recent months celebrated low unemployment, slowing inflation and rising wages but voters have yet to give the president credit. Just 36% of voters approved of Biden’s handling of the economy and he trailed Trump 42% to 47% in a hypothetical rematch according to a February NBC News poll.
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