Politics

Biden tells donors: I'm going to get rid of most of Trump's tax cuts 'and a lot of you may not like that'

Key Points
  • Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden told potential donors to his campaign that he would roll back most of President Donald Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax cuts – even though "a lot of you may not like that."
  • Biden's warning to his backers came as the candidate laid out an ambitious suite of policy goals during a virtual campaign fundraiser.
  • "I'm going to get rid of the bulk of Trump's $2 trillion tax cut," Biden said, "and a lot of you may not like that but I'm going to close loopholes like capital gains and stepped up basis."
Jim Cramer on Joe Biden's pledge to get rid of President Trump's tax cuts
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Jim Cramer on Joe Biden's pledge to get rid of President Trump's tax cuts

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden told potential donors to his campaign that his administration would end most of President Donald Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax cuts – even though "a lot of you may not like that."

Biden's warning to his backers came as the candidate laid out an ambitious suite of policy goals during a virtual campaign fundraiser on Monday.

The event raised at least $2 million, CNBC reported.

Schwartz TWEET

Biden, who has largely avoided in-person campaign events throughout the coronavirus pandemic, said the recovery from the health crisis could present an "opportunity" to strengthen the middle class and make sweeping investments in clean energy and infrastructure.

"Folks, this is going to be really hard work and Donald Trump has made it much harder to foot the bill," Biden said, according to a Wall Street Journal reporter's press pool report about the event.

But even before the coronavirus crisis effectively froze the U.S. economy and sent unemployment skyrocketing, Trump's "irresponsible sugar-high tax cuts had already pushed us into a trillion-dollar deficit," Biden said.

"I'm going to get rid of the bulk of Trump's $2 trillion tax cut," Biden continued, "and a lot of you may not like that but I'm going to close loopholes like capital gains and stepped-up basis."

Biden also said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, which he said would raise an estimated $1.3 trillion over the next decade. The Trump tax cuts had shrunk corporate taxes to 21% from 35%.

"We have to think as big as the challenge we face. But this is America, there is nothing we cannot do if we do it together," Biden said. "But I think the country is ready."

The Trump campaign didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

—CNBC's Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

Josh Brown: What Trump's tax bill means for your money
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Josh Brown: What Trump's tax bill means for your money