“Shark Tank” star and business mogul Kevin O’Leary may not be too keen on how a president Joe Biden would influence the bottom lines of corporations (see Biden’s proposed tax hikes), but he is in the former vice president’s camp on at least one topic.
The Green New Deal.
“All of these promises of the Green New Deal, and all of that stuff will never happen,” O’Leary told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade. O’Leary views the Green New Deal similar to placing a new tax on the earnings potential of a company. And with the economy continuing to struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic, O’Leary believes Biden would be hard-pressed to hike taxes.
Added O’Leary, “You can’t raise taxes for the first 24 months.”
Despite President Trump’s jabs on the campaign trail, Biden has continued to say the Green New Deal — put forth by Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — is “not my plan.” It’s probably wise that it’s not, even if some of the plan’s proposals like making buildings more green to combat climate change are admirable.
As Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman reports, the Green New Deal would cost the average American household a minimum of $36,000 per year in new taxes. That number skyrockets to $65,000 a year using higher end estimates.
Biden has put forth a broader economic revival plan should he win the presidency.
Biden’s “Build Back Better” scheme is in line with many traditional Democratic efforts around expanded social safety nets and infrastructure investments. The plan devotes about $400 billion to expanding clean vehicle technology, steel production and other building materials. He is also eyeing $300 billion for investments in 5G and artificial intelligence.
Biden supports lifting the minimum wage to $15 an hour. In all, the $700 billion plan from Biden targets the creation of 5 million jobs.
To pay for it all, Biden intends to reverse Trump’s signature corporate taxes to businesses. He would lift the statutory rate to 28% from 21% currently, which would hit the bottom lines of companies and likely their stock prices.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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