President Joe Biden’s plans to raise the capital gains tax by 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million will be “another major economic blunder” that will harm American workers, Rep. Kevin Brady said Monday.
“After the tax cuts and jobs investment in America, the result was blue-collar workers, local communities that benefitted,” the Texas Republican, one of the architects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, said on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria.”
But with Biden’s actions, which include that the tax rate could actually go up to 43.4%, it will double the tax and have the “opposite effect,” said Brady, and would in effect punish the people rebuilding the nation’s economy.
The plans also show the difference in policies when it comes to taxes, said Brady, as Republicans view tax policy as a way to invest and make businesses more successful around the world while Democrats “do tax policy by picking a villain” to punish them for “punishment’s sake to spend dollars elsewhere.
Brady quoted former National Economic Director Lawrence Lindsey on the topic, insisting that capital tax rate hikes do not generate maximum revenue.
“For all this, about the socialist agenda at the end of the day, you punish the economy,” he said. “(You are) punishing businesses and blue-collar workers. As you know, some states have capital gains above 50%, so in effect, the government has a greater claim over your investments than you do. That is exactly the definition of socialism.”
It won’t be easy for Republicans to stop the planned increases, but it can be done, Brady said.
“Most lawmakers understand we don’t want to (return to) business tax rates worse than China and on par with Syria,” said Brady.
Lawmakers also don’t want a return to the Obama era, when “hundreds if not thousands of businesses were moving jobs and headquarters overseas,” said Brady. “I will tell you this, we are going to fight tooth and nail in the House of Representatives.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans will hold their annual retreat in Florida this week, and the priority under discussion will be to continue victories that will lead to retaking the chamber from Democrats in 2022.
“We rolled out our commitment to America before the November elections,” said Brady. “I think that is one of the reasons we gained back two-thirds, of what we needed to take back the majority.”
He added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knows the Democrats’ “days are numbered.”
“Republicans are going to take back the majority in about one year and 8 months, and we have a plan for America,” said Brady. “In the retreat, one of our breakout sessions focuses exactly on those challenges, and on censorship, as well as how we get hold technology that works for the American people, for the average person. These are our priorities.”
Source: Newmax
