Biden releases economic revival plan

Presidential candidate Joe Biden has released a $700 billion “Made in All of America” plan to revive the U.S. economy. The plan calls for the federal government to spend $400 billion over four years on government purchasing of U.S.-made goods and services, as well as $300 billion on research and development for new technologies and clean energy initiatives.

Biden has outlined numerous proposals laying out his vision for a Biden Presidency, which would be paid for with tax increases or spending cuts. According to the bipartisan Tax Policy Center, the Biden campaign has outlined $4 trillion in tax increases, many that would directly or indirectly harm the retail real estate industry and would be opposed by ICSC. 

Those include:

• Eliminating tax preferences for the real estate industry, such as like-kind exchanges and carried interest – or “the promote” as it is often referred to in the real estate industry.
• Taxing capital gains and dividends at the same rate as ordinary income for taxpayers with incomes above $1 million.
• Phasing out the 20% deduction for qualified business income (Sec. 199A) for individuals with more than $400,000 of income
• Returning the top tax rates to their pre-tax reform levels (37 to 39.6%) for individuals with more than $400,000 of income
• Eliminating step-up basis for estate taxes.

President Trump has not yet released specific priorities for his second term. White House officials have indicated his agenda will likely focus on getting the economy back to where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began.