The Democrats’ fiscal policy makes a mockery of their progressive pledges

THE TAX plans of President Joe Biden were once full of lofty promises. He and Democrats in Congress would reverse Donald Trump’s tax cuts, make the wealthy pay more and fully fund all manner of desperately needed climate and social-policy programmes with the proceeds. The middle class would rise and the top 1% would manage. As the messy drafting of Mr Biden’s main spending bill—the Build Back Better Act—nears its conclusion after months of wheeling and dealing, it is clear that, when it comes to tax, the result is not lofty at all.

The president was unable to whip his slim congressional majorities into reversing Mr Trump’s tax law and increasing marginal rates on capital gains, corporate profits or top individual incomes. And so his plan to raise revenue is a hotch-potch of unorthodox measures, including a new minimum tax on corporate-book income, an excise tax on stock buy-backs and a new surtax on those with incomes above $10m. The wisdom of these measures can be debated. What cannot is a last-minute addition to the bill that would spend hundreds of billions of dollars subsidising the richest residents of New York and California.