As promised, however, before turning to tax reform, student loan relief, or other policy considerations, Biden is prioritizing another round of COVID relief. Earlier today, he introduced the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a $1.9 trillion stimulus package designed to address the devastating economic and public health impacts of the ongoing pandemic.
Were he so inclined, Biden could seek to pass much of the bill using the streamlined budget reconciliation process, which would come in particularly handy as it requires only 51 votes for passage in the Senate, where the Democrats currently possess...51 votes. Biden would prefer the package be passed on a bipartisan basis, however, which would require the buy-in from ten Republican Senators.
While the ARP contains a number of critical provisions — from an increase in the minimum wage to rental assistance to the development of a national vaccination program — in this space, we focus on the tax law, and Biden’s plan contains several provisions that will be implemented through the pages of the Internal Revenue Code.
Let’s take a look...