President Biden gifted Republicans with 2022 campaign fodder after his candid response to a question regarding congressional Democratic support for a tax hike.
Biden projected confidence that Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill would back his push to levy higher tax bracket earners more aggressively.
“I’ll get the Democratic votes for a tax increase,” he told ABC in an interview that aired in full on Wednesday.
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Biden stood by his campaign pledge to target people earning more than $400,000 annually. He also endorsed reinstating the top marginal rate of 39.6% from before former President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, arguing that it could generate $230 billion in government receipts.
“Anybody making more than $400,000 will see a small to a significant tax increase,” he said. “If you make less than $400,000, you won’t see one single penny in additional federal tax.”
Biden is being needled on his tax plan as his administration pivots to its next agenda item following his $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package: a massive infrastructure deal, which is likely to include investments in climate-related projects. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted last week that phased-in tax hikes would be introduced later this year “to pay for at least part of it.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki this week brushed off concerns tax increases would slow economic growth as the administration tries to relieve downward pressure caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Well, there isn’t a package yet, right? I know there’s lots of conversations in Congress, and we’re certainly working very closely with them in consultations,” she told reporters. “Obviously, the president will have more to say about what he wants to pursue next as part of his Build Back Better agenda.”
One of those ideas is Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s so-called wealth tax. Yet, Psaki did distance Biden from the pitch Warren made during the 2020 Democratic primary, which was aimed at households reporting more than $50 million a year in income.
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“He had a different proposal he put forward than the one Sen. Warren has put forward,” Psaki said. “When it’s the appropriate time, I’m sure they’ll discuss, and he will discuss with others what their views are of how to address this moving forward.”
