Your Opinion: Biden's tax plan

Mike Barnhill

Ashland

Dear Editor:

President Joe Biden has stated he will raise taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year. He has called anybody who makes more than $400,000 a year "rich" and should, therefore, "pay their fair share" in taxes. What's not clear is whether Biden is making the $400,000 income threshold for the top marginal income tax for individuals or couples.

If the $400,00 is intended for married couples (most likely), then the income threshold for individuals facing the top marginal income tax rate will likely decline to somewhere around $250,000-$300,000.

If the $400,000 pertains to individuals and married couples, then high-earning individuals had best not get married. It would be much more tax-efficient to earn up to $400,000 per individual and just live happily ever after with another $400,000-earning individual.

Most GOP and some Democrats senators are opposed to this tax increase. Is it really an increase for individuals, married couples and corporations or just a return to fairer taxation before Trump's tax reductions? Both parties seem to advocate a need for growth in our infrastructure spending, but seem to disagree on how to pay for it. Common sense would seem to agree with the well-used "Fram Oil Filter" commercial "Pay now or pay a lot more later."

Just saying "no" is not the answer to bettering the U.S. economy by an increase in jobs through the growth of the infrastructure program. A compromise and finally a solution is much more preferable. Both parties should work on "How to make the infrastructure program work" rather than "Reasons why it won't work."