Biden eyes $80 billion boost for IRS to help fund family initiative: NYT

[April 27, 2021]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will seek an extra $80 billion to fund U.S. tax collections that would help pay for his plan to bolster childcare, universal pre-kindergarten education and paid leave for workers, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The president's proposal to boost the Internal Revenue Service's budget over 10 years would help the agency curb tax evasion by increasing and better targeting audits of high-earners and large corporations, the Times said, citing two people familiar with the plan.

It would also include new disclosure requirements for owners of businesses that are not corporations and for other wealthy people, according to the report.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the report.

Biden's American Families Plan, expected to be released before his address to Congress on Wednesday, is part of the Democratic president's sweeping economic agenda and sources have said the details are still fluid.

The potentially $1.5 trillion effort could reshape life for many average people in the United States trying to balance work with caring for their families, and the White House has said the wealthy and corporations can afford to pay for new programs.

It would also increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, raising the top marginal income tax rate and nearly doubling taxes on capital gains for those earning more than $1 million, people familiar with the plan said last week.

While tax increases were part of Biden's presidential campaign, news of the hike shook U.S. markets last week.

Republicans traditionally have rejected efforts to raise taxes, and passed a sweeping tax cut in 2017 under Republican President Donald Trump.

But Biden, who is also pushing for companies to help fund his separate $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, has been adamant about targeting non-payers to re-invest in the nation.

"I'm not trying to punish anybody, but damn it - maybe it's because I come from a middle-class neighborhood - I'm sick and tired of ordinary people being fleeced," he said earlier this month.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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