Kyrsten Sinema Goes to War With the Democrats to Keep Taxes Low for the Wealthy

Jonathan Weisman and Coral Davenport / The New York Times

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) delivered a tough ultimatum to President Joe Biden at a private meeting Wednesday on infrastructure. (photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) 26 September 21

Opposition from a single moderate Democrat to corporate and income tax rate increases has revived efforts in the Senate to draft a tax on carbon dioxide pollution as a way to pay for the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion budget bill.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has not advocated a carbon tax, which President Joe Biden and other key Democrats have shied away from as a huge political risk. But her resistance to tax rate increases to pay for the Democrats’ ambitious social policy and climate legislation has set off a scramble for alternatives — at the very least to show her how difficult it would be assemble a package without those rate hikes.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chair of the Senate Finance Committee, confirmed that the Senate majority leader had asked him to craft legislation that would put a price on carbon emissions but to ensure that the policy would respect Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on families earning less than $400,000.

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