U.S. President Joe Biden’s allies in the business community have been meeting to craft a set of proposals, including a potential carbon tax, to help pay for an expected $2-trillion infrastructure plan.
Sources say one of those efforts, which started just after Biden was declared the winner of the election in late November, is being led by longtime Biden ally and New York business leader Dennis Mehiel, along with former Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris.
Mehiel and Liveris have been reaching out to business leaders across the country to discuss ways they believe the Biden administration and Congress could move ahead with funding mechanisms for such a large-scale proposal, this person noted.
The plan is expected to jell after a few months, while Biden focuses on the COVID19 pandemic and economic relief.
Discussions with various teams are expected to continue in the coming weeks. Some of the ideas are on course to be brought to Biden administration officials, along with congressional leaders. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Biden confidant, has reportedly also been on some of the calls.
The people on the calls have discussed several ideas to pay for the plan, including a carbon tax.
A carbon tax is a "fee imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, gas)," according to the Carbon Tax Center. "Policymakers could use the resulting revenue to offset those impacts, lower individual and corporate taxes, reduce the budget deficit, invest in clean energy and climate adaptation, or for other uses," according to the Tax Policy Center.
