President Biden looks set to break his tax increase promise, with new legislation aimed at increasing taxes for people earning half of what he originally suggested.
From the New York Post:
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday clarified that President Biden’s proposed tax hike would apply to people who earn $200,000 per year if they are married to someone who makes the same amount.
Psaki said at her daily press briefing that the proposed $400,000 threshold for tax increases applies to “families” rather than individuals.
That number is a significant departure from the one given during his interview Wednesday, where the president vowed not to raise taxes on those earning less than $400,000:
Biden’s interview statement appeared to indicate the cutoff would be $400,000 in individual income.
“Yes, anybody making more than $400,000 will see a small to a significant tax increase,” Biden told George Stephanopoulos.
Biden added, “If you make less than $400,000, you won’t see one single penny in additional federal tax.”
With Democrats holding a slim majority in the House and the Senate split 50-50, Biden acknowledged the idea of tax increases is unlikely to garner much bipartisan support:
“I may not get [Republican support], but I’ll get the Democratic votes for a tax increase. If we just took the tax rate back to what it was when [George W.] Bush was president — [when] the top rate paid 39.6 percent in federal taxes — that would raise $230 billion. Yet they’re complaining because I’m providing a tax credit for child care for the poor, from middle class?” Biden said.
The proposal is also a departure from the plan Biden revealed in the lead up to the presidential election, which saw tax increases start to phase in for individual earners making more than $400,000.
Biden used that $400,000 figure multiple times throughout the campaign.
“Nobody making under 400,000 bucks would have their taxes raised, period, bingo,” Biden said in May.
“I will raise taxes for anybody making over $400,000. … No new taxes [for people making less than $400,000], there would be no need for [any],” he said in August.
He also repeated the lie on social media.
Let me be very clear: If you make under $400,000 you won’t pay a penny more in taxes under my administration.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 16, 2020
It’s common for politicians to promise tax hikes in a way so voters don’t think they’ll apply to them in particular, and Biden knows that well.
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