US President Joe Biden speaks of the Biden administration’s pandemic response (COVID-19) as Vice President Kamala Harris listens in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, March 2, 2021.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he is ready to negotiate the proposed increase in the corporate tax rate in his $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan.
“I’m willing to listen to that,” Biden said in the White House when asked if he would consider a lower corporate tax rate than 28%, which his plan currently calls for.
“We have to pay for this,” Biden added, noting that there are “many other ways we can do it.”
“But I do want to negotiate about that,” he said.
The president’s comment on the corporate tax rate came after he thoroughly defended the scale and scope of his proposed infrastructure overhaul.
Republicans have been quick to criticize the plan to over-fund projects that they believe fall outside the definition of infrastructure. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Has attempted to label the plan a “Trojan horse” for liberal policies, and GOP lawmakers have claimed that only a small portion of the massive bill goes to “real infrastructure.”
But Biden argued Wednesday afternoon that “the idea of infrastructure has always evolved to meet the aspirations of the American people and their needs. And it’s evolving again today.”
While the president said he welcomed the debate over the specifics of the bill, he said his own view is that infrastructure reform should be designed with the future in mind, rather than focusing on repairing existing structures.
“We’re not just repairing for today. We’re building for tomorrow,” said Biden.
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