US President Joe Biden speaks about his US$2 trillion infrastructure plan during an event to tout the plan at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Centre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 31, 2021. — Reuters picWASHINGTON, April 7 — US President Joe Biden will sharpen arguments for his US$2.2 trillion new spending proposal in a speech today challenging opponents of the plan and the taxes that would be raised to pay for it.
The president will attempt to put those opponents on the defensive in a speech where he will “challenge critics to explain why it’s acceptable that 91 of the biggest corporations paid zero in federal taxes in 2019, or lay out which parts of this package they don’t think is worthy,” according to a White House official previewing Biden’s remarks, who declined to be named.
Biden plans a host of investments over eight years in spending on roads and bridges, retrofitting homes, expanding broadband internet access, caring for the elderly, building up domestic manufacturers and building high-speed rail. Biden’s plan also raises taxes on companies’ overseas earnings and introduces a new minimum tax on the profits they report to investors.