Joe Biden’s tax plan will raise rates for all, Kayleigh McEnany claims
'If you repeal the Trump tax cuts it hurts low- and middle-income Americans,' McEnany says
“It's a lie” that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's plans to reverse President Trump's tax cuts would only impact those making more than $400,000, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told “Mornings with Maria” on Tuesday.
“Of course if you repeal the Trump tax cuts it hurts low- and middle-income Americans who benefited from that,” McEnany told host Maria Bartiromo.
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McEnany was referring to Biden’s plan to repeal changes made to individual income tax rates for the wealthy (individuals with incomes over $400,000) under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which means the top rate would revert back to 39.6 percent, from 37 percent.
Additionally, income above $400,000 would be subject to the 12.4 percent Social Security tax – split evenly between employees and employers. Currently, there is a wage cap of $137,700. Wages between those two ranges would not be taxed.
Biden also proposed capping itemized deductions at 28 percent of value for the wealthiest Americans.
Bartiromo pointed out that “Biden has said that he is not going to raise taxes on anybody making more than $400,000, but at the same time, he says he is going to reverse President Trump’s tax cut plan.”
“We know that tax cut plan lowered income taxes for all levels of income so if you’re going to reverse that that means all levels of income taxes go up, but he keeps saying that [it would] just [impact those making more than] $400,000,” Bartiromo continued.
She then asked McEnany, “Is that a lie? Is this politics?”
“Of course it’s a lie,” McEnany said in response.
She went on to say “this is yet another reversal he’s trying to have here,” referencing his reversal on his stance on fracking as well.
Trump has repeatedly claimed Biden will ban fracking if he becomes president, but Biden has said that's not part of his agenda.
During a debate with incumbent Vice President Mike Pence last week, Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., reiterated that Biden has no plans to ban fracking. Harris, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, has supported a ban on the practice but acknowledges her view is different from the former vice president's.
On Tuesday McEnany pointed to Biden’s past comments on fracking saying, “He said he wanted to ban it all.”
“He said that several times and now he’s trying to reverse course,” McEnany said. “He’s just doing what he has to do to win an election, but make no mistake low- and middle-income taxes would go up.”
She added that also “when you raise the corporate rate, that ends up affecting after-tax income so it’ll be a double whammy for low- and middle-income Americans and they’ve seen their wages go up thanks to this president.”
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the corporate tax rate to 21 percent, from 35 percent.
Biden would raise it to 28 percent under his plan.
He has proposed creating a minimum tax on corporations with at least $100 million in book profits, which means corporations would pay either their regular corporate income tax or a 15 percent minimum tax – whichever is greater.
Bartiromo noted on Tuesday that “the stock market is telling us one thing, that perhaps President Trump gets a second term, [but] the polls are saying something entirely different.” She then asked McEnany what she makes “of polls that continue to show President Trump trailing.”
“I think a lot of these polls don’t poll likely voters, oversample Democrats and I don’t think the Trump coalition takes too well when they get a phone call from a pollster,” McEnany said in response.
“The Trump coalition, they show up, they vote on Election Day, they wait on line at rallies, they are routinely camping out overnight in overflow lines just to see this president.”
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She stressed that Trump supporters “show up” and vote.
“They don’t necessarily want to talk to a pollster or the media. But make no mistake they’re there, they’re loud and they will be out and about on Nov. 3 reelecting this president,” McEnany said.
McEnany, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, was speaking to Bartiromo from her quarantine area.
She said she “never had symptoms” and has been working from home during the quarantine process. She added that she is “about 48 hours away” from being able to finish the quarantine process, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
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Other White House staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 include senior adviser Hope Hicks and director of Oval Office operations Nick Luna. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien also tested positive for COVID-19.
Former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has also tested positive and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who participated in debate prep with the president, recently, did too.
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FOX Business’ Brittany De Lea and Fox News’ Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report.