TAXES

Biden Tells Taxes to Take a Hike

We're just going to rip off the Band-Aid: President Biden is aiming to raise taxes sooner rather than later, according to a new Bloomberg report. 

What can you expect? For individuals...

• Bumping the income tax to 39.6% for those earning $400,000+  
• Taxing capital gains like normal income if you earn $1+ million
• Increasing estate taxes to 45% for assets worth $1+ million

So, if you still clip coupons, don't expect any changes. These increases largely follow Biden's campaign proposals to only tax high-earners.

What about businesses?

The headline proposal is raising the corporate rate to 28%. Biden may also get rid of preferential tax treatment for "pass-through businesses" like LLCs and increase incentives to avoid offshoring. 

When Trump slashed the corporate rate to 21% in 2017, he wasn't the first to bat for business interests. From 2000–2018, 76 countries reduced their corporate rates to attract investment; now, the average rate is ~24%. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen wants to stop that "race to the bottom," which some economists say has only benefited large companies, so she's working with allies on establishing a global minimum tax for multinationals. 

• UC Berkeley economists estimate 40% of profits earned by multinational firms (or $700+ billion) were located in tax havens in 2017. 

Critics argue this plan puts companies at risk for double taxation. And the Tax Foundation estimates that some of the proposed changes to corporate taxes would reduce US GDP by 0.8% and wages by 0.7% in the long run. 

So why do they want to do this? 

Given that the last major tax hike happened in 1993, it's not an easy play for hearts and votes. And groups with lots of money at stake are sure to lobby against the plan.

But after funding his ambitious $1.9 trillion Covid package largely with government debt, Biden needs something more sustainable for the even more ambitious infrastructure package he's eyeing, which could run anywhere from $2–$4 trillion. 

HEALTH

The Only Clots Europeans Will Stand Are in Their Cream

Yesterday, Germany, France, and Italy joined several of their neighbors in suspending AstraZeneca's two-shot Covid vaccine following reports of blood clots. Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also suspended rollout. 

Only 37 out of the 17 million Europeans who received an AstraZeneca shot reported clots—a number some experts say is below the expected natural occurence in a sample size that large. The WHO and AstraZeneca maintain the shot is safe, and countries including the UK and Poland continue to administer it, arguing the benefits of preventing Covid outweigh the risks.  

• Several countries will wait on an assessment scheduled for Thursday from the European Medicines Agency. 

Zoom out: The EU's vaccine rollout has been slower than expected and plagued by production issues. Suspending the vaccine from AstraZeneca, the bloc's second-largest supply after Pfizer-BioNTech, could delay a goal of immunizing 75% of the population by August by several weeks, per research firm Airfinity. 

It's especially bad timing. Several EU countries—including Germany and Italy—are facing a third wave of cases. Over half of Italy's population is back under strict lockdowns. 

ENTERTAINMENT

Everyone Is Winning the Streaming Wars

Like the duo of ranch and buffalo sauce on a Chick-fil-A sandwich, Discovery and ViacomCBS have been huge under-the-radar successes this year.

Since the start of 2021, ViacomCBS stock is up 156% and Discovery has gained 141%, powered by the launches of their respective streaming services, Paramount+ and Discovery+. They're among the top performers in the S&P 500.

The backstory: The companies had been written off by experts who thought Netflix, Disney, and other tech/entertainment giants would muscle out these slow-moving dinosaurs in the streaming wars. But while the biggest players have gobbled up hundreds of millions of subscribers...there are plenty of leftovers.

• Since launching in December, Discovery+ has attracted more than 11 million subscribers, while Paramount+, ViacomCBS's streaming service, is believed to have around 8–9 million subscribers.

Bottom line: Investors have cheered these companies' moves to leverage their content libraries for streaming, proving that as long as you bring beer to the party, no one cares if you show up late.

SPONSORED BY CYTONICS

Your Chance to Invest in Biotech

You don’t need a PhD in molecular biology to understand the investment potential of this scientific breakthrough.

The alien lifeform (we’re pretty sure) in the image above is a patented, genetically engineered protein developed by Cytonics. 

This protein, “CYT-108,” is a novel therapy developed to treat osteoarthritis—a debilitating disease that affects millions worldwide—and now you have a chance to invest in its future.

A couple of key stats:

• Cytonics has raised over $15 million to-date, including a $4 million investment from Synthes (a Johnson & Johnson company) and a successful SeedInvest round in 2019.
• CYT-108 is based on a naturally occurring molecule, and Cytonics’s research shows that it has the potential to reverse the progression of cartilage damage in arthritic joints. 

More than $180 billion is spent on treating osteoarthritis every year—but these treatments only focus on symptoms. Cytonics's revolutionary CYT-108 attacks osteoarthritis at the source.

Invest in Cytonics today.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Quote: "Effective as of March 15, 2021, the titles of Elon Musk and Zach Kirkhorn have changed to Technoking of Tesla and Master of Coin, respectively."

In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla promoted (?) its CEO and CFO to esteemed new positions, though to the relief of many Tesla investors, they'll also keep their previous titles. 

Stat: Yesterday, Rosalind Brewer became the only Black woman currently serving as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She's the new head of Walgreens. 

Read: Will the literature of the suburbs be written on TikTok? (Dirt)

INFLATION

The UK Weaves a New Basket

In the biggest shakeup to inflation tracking since bike pumps added a PSI gauge, the UK’s Office for National Statistics has added Covid-era staples including hand sanitizer, home exercise equipment, and men's sweatpants to the basket of goods it uses to calculate inflation.

• How it works: Officials assemble a "virtual basket" filled with hundreds of goods and services meant to reflect the spending habits of consumers. If the price of that basket goes up, that means inflation is on the rise.

The UK updated its basket to show not only how the pandemic has impacted current spending, but also what spending post-pandemic could look like. For instance, face masks didn't make the cut because officials don't think they will play a role in a post-Covid world. But electric and hybrid vehicles did.  

Bottom line: In total, 17 items were added to the basket while 10 items, including gold chains, canteen sandwiches, and Axminster carpets, were dropped. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Deb Haaland was confirmed as Interior secretary. She makes history as the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency.
• Netflix's Mank topped the list for most Oscar nominations with 10. Here's a thread of NYTimes reviews for all the best picture nominees.
• US airline execs reported "glimmers of hope" for a travel rebound at a conference yesterday. Last weekend was the busiest at US airports since the pandemic began.
• Sen. Mitt Romney called for an "economic and diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
• GM-backed Cruise is buying fellow self-driving company Voyage as the industry consolidates around a few major players.
• China glowed orange yesterday during the country's biggest sandstorm in a decade.

BREW'S BETS

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Fly commando with confidence. The Vuori Kore Short comes with a breathable, boxer brief liner, meaning you can cruise along comfortably while running, hiking, training, traveling, or yes, just chilling. Get 20% off your first purchase of these soft, stretchy shorts here.*

Tech Tip Tuesday: Here's how to create and sell an NFT, if you happen to be the main character of a 2013 meme or something. Plus, this is the only NFT guide you need.

Stay secure: This infographic shows how long it would take a hacker to figure out your password through brute force.

GPOAT Sweet 16: The 64 products that began our Greatest Product of All Time tournament have been whittled down to just 16. #14 air fryer continued its Cinderella run, while Coke bested Bud Light in the battle of the beverages. Check out the full results, then get ready for the next round on Wednesday. 

^{*This is sponsored advertising content}

TAXES

T Minus 30 Days

After the moon completes just one more rotation around the Earth, you will be staring face-to-face with the deadline to file your taxes this year.

Yes, that was kind of meant to freak you out, but here's something meant to un-freak you out: This filing season, we created a tax guide with a focus on the growing gig economy. So if you're a freelancer/contractor or have a side hustle, there's likely something very helpful for you here. 

You'll find...

• Tips from veteran freelancers (including a former NBA player) about how they file taxes
• Guides on filing as an S-corp, LLC, and more
• Fun quizzes

Check out the tax guide.

GAMES

Guess the Stock Chart

Discovery and ViacomCBS aren't the only companies dominating the market. One year ago, this stock was at $8.54. Yesterday, it closed higher than $136. What is the company?

• Hint: It made a big acquisition in January 2020.

ANSWER

Penn National Gaming. The acquisition was Barstool Sports.