Biden budget has tax breaks for families

MANCHESTER, N.H. — President Joe Biden on Monday released a budget proposal aimed at getting voters’ attention: It would offer tax breaks for families, lower health care costs, smaller deficits and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Unlikely to pass the House and Senate to become law, the proposal for fiscal 2025 is an election-year blueprint about what the future could hold if Biden and enough of his fellow Democrats win in November.

If the Biden budget became law, deficits could be pruned $3 trillion over a decade. It would raise tax revenues by a total of $4.9 trillion over that period and use roughly $1.9 trillion to fund programs, with the rest going to deficit reduction.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA., issued a joint statement with other GOP leaders calling the Biden proposal a “glaring reminder of this administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending.”

Under the proposal, the government would spend $7.3 trillion next fiscal year and borrow $1.8 trillion to cover the shortfall from tax receipts. Biden’s 188-page plan covers a decade’s worth of spending, taxes and debt.

Trump, for his part, would like to increase tariffs and pump out gushers of oil. He called for a “second phase” of tax cuts as parts of his 2017 overhaul of the income tax code would expire after 2025. The Republican has also said he would slash government regulations. He has also pledged to pay down the national debt.

In a Monday interview with CNBC, Trump indicated that he would be willing to reduce spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but he did not offer a full policy.

The interview drew Biden’s attention, prompting him to say that cuts are off the table.