The banking industry and Republicans have criticised a White House proposal to increase taxes on Wall Street and the wealthy as President Barack Obama steps up efforts to seize the initiative on economic policy.
The president, seeking to exploit a tide of populism in the US, will unveil proposals in his State of the Union address tomorrow that would pump funds raised from banks and rich families into policies likely to be popular with the middle class.
Mr Obama aims to raise $300bn by imposing a new levy on the US’s largest financial institutions, raising the top rate of capital gains tax to 28 per cent, and closing a loophole in the inheritance tax system. The funds would pay for initiatives to boost the middle class — such as tax benefits for childcare, college education and retirement for middle- class Americans — as the president continues an aggressive run of policy moves likely to shape debate in the 2016 presidential campaign.