Vice President Kamala Harris insists Democrats’ $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act will not cost American taxpayers “anything.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Harris was asked about the latest data from the Labor Department that found inflation increased at the fastest pace in 30 years.
She said, “There is also a point that is important to make on the Build Back Better framework. One, it is designed to make it less expensive for working people to live. It was specifically designed to bring down the cost of childcare and increase accessibility and availability. Designed to bring down the cost of elder care and make it available to all those working families that need that support and need that help.”
“And, Build Back Better is not going to cost anything. We’re paying for it,” Harris added.
Finally, she reiterated, “It’s also important to stress that it’s not going to cost anything for the American taxpayer.”
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On the Biden inflation crisis, @VP Harris says the Build Back Better bill was "specifically designed" to reverse inflation.
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 12, 2021
"It's also important to stress that it’s not going to cost anything for the American taxpayer." pic.twitter.com/Y5afcbL1Bb
Late last month, the White House released a framework for the spending bill, slashing nearly $2 trillion from the original price tag, which laid out proposals to raise revenue to pay for the bill.
They included a minimum 15% tax on large corporations, a tax on stock buyback, and an investment in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement.
The framework also includes “a new surtax on multi-millionaires and billionaires.”
New — WH releases framework proposal, detailing what’s in the $1.75T plan. https://t.co/gGah4JkVsE pic.twitter.com/x584XFdUZH
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 28, 2021
While Harris said the bill would not cost “anything” for taxpayers, it does include a new tax for wealthier Americans.
As CNBC reports, “The plan would impose a new surcharge on the top 0.02% of Americans, according to the White House.”
“There would be a 5% surtax on modified adjusted gross income of more than $10 million, and an additional 3% (or, a total 8% surtax) on income of more than $25 million, according to a summary of provisions released Thursday,” it added.
In a speech after the framework was released, Biden said, “I don’t want to punish anyone’s success; I’m a capitalist.”
“All I’m asking is, pay your fair share,” he added.
Additionally, he maintained that households earning less than $400,000 a year would not “pay a penny more” in federal taxes.
However, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center predicted that if the spending bill passed, “Taking into account all major tax provisions, roughly 20 percent to 30 percent of middle-income households would pay more in taxes in 2022.”
Still, the study found the bill would not lead to massive tax increases. It added, “Among those with a tax increase, low- and middle-income households would pay an additional $100 or less on average. Those making $200,000-$500,000 would pay an average of about $230 more.”