President Biden has proposed a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, to be financed mainly by increases in corporate taxes. Here’s a guide to two misleading talking points that have already emerged.
“This is a massive social welfare spending program combined with a massive tax increase on small-business job creators.”
— Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), in an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” April 11
Politicians on both sides of the aisle often sing the praises of small businesses. But we were rather surprised to see Wicker claim that increasing the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent would be a burden on small businesses. (Before the 2017 tax law, the corporate rate was 35 percent. Biden argues that the reduction was too steep.)
Wicker’s staff noted that Biden’s tax plan does not include a carve-out for small businesses, so “any business, including a small business, that files as a C-corporation would see their tax rate increase from 21 percent to 28 percent,” an aide said. The aide pointed to a National Federation of Independent Business report that cites “federal taxes on business income” as the third most severe issue facing small-business owners, with 20 percent of respondents finding federal taxes on income to be a “critical” issue in operating their businesses.
