Biden admits tax hike could hit people earning $200K

WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday admitted that his $2 trillion infrastructure plan would bring tax increases to some people who earn $200,000 — while insisting that a separate hike on businesses “will not slow the economy at all.”

Biden for weeks has said that his proposed hike on the highest income tax bracket would not hit any person who earns less than $400,000. 

But his updated phrasing confirms press secretaryJen Psaki’s recent acknowledgment that a two-partner family would be impacted if combined income crosses $400,000.

Biden told reporters at the White House that his infrastructure plan would be paid for by those who can afford higher taxes.

“It is a once-in-a-generation investment in our economic future, a chance to win the future — paid for by asking big corporations, many of which do not pay any taxes at all, just to begin to pay their fair share. And it won’t raise a penny of tax on a family making less than $400,000 a year, no federal tax, no addition,” he said.

The president’s description of the tax hike as applying to any “family” that makes more than $400,000 per year is a significant change from his earlier remarks, and could mean families on the cusp of affluence in areas with high costs of living are impacted.

By contrast, Biden said Wednesday in a speech in Pittsburgh unveiling the tax increase and infrastructure plan, “No one making under $400,000 will see their federal taxes go up. Period.”