Yellen Keeps US Bank Transaction Reporting at $10,000, Dropping Wider Net for Tax Cheats

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Treasury is reinstating its $10,000 threshold for the reporting of banking transactions in the United States, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday, jettisoning her earlier idea to drop the level to $600.

“Today’s new proposal reflects the administration’s strong belief that we should zero in on those at the top of the income scale who don’t pay the taxes they owe," Yellen said in a statement.

The Biden administration had wanted a lower reporting level to capture an estimated $160 billion in personal income taxes that go unpaid each year, but Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal had proposed sticking to the original threshold.

Since he took office in January, President Joe Biden has asked the wealthy to pay their “fair share” to fund his administration’s infrastructure and welfare spending plans, totaling about $4 trillion. Biden has lamented that some of the richest US companies and citizens pay virtually no taxes by exploiting loopholes or basing their tax jurisdictions in countries with excessively generous tax rates.

Yellen noted in the release that the Biden administration wants to raise the US corporate tax to be raised to 26.5% from 21%.

The administration has also proposed a 3-percentage-point surtax on top earners and a hike of up to  5-percentage points on capital gains taxes. Tax breaks will be offered to low-income earners, with no additional burden for those making less than $400,000 a year, the release added.

Aside from advocating higher taxes at home, the Biden administration has succeeded in moving the ball overseas, getting the 136-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to agree to a minimum corporate tax rate of 15%.