Voters want infrastructure to be paid for with spending cuts, not tax increases, according to a poll conducted by Echelon Insights.
Specifically, 50 percent of voters said they wanted to pay for infrastructure through spending cuts, only 23 percent say they want to pay for it through tax increases, and 9 percent said they wanted to pay for it through adding to the national debt.
Among independents, 53 percent want the plan paid for through spending cuts, 24 percent through tax increases, and 4 percent through adding to the national debt.
This is bad news for the Biden administration, as his two-part infrastructure plan includes trillions of dollars in new tax hikes.
Specifically, his plan would impose a corporate tax hike to 25 or 28 percent, which would be primarily borne by workers through lower wages and fewer jobs. His plan would also implement a second death tax through the repeal of step-up in basis, which would disproportionately fall on family-owned businesses, many of which are asset rich, but cash poor. The plan includes a doubling of the capital gains rate, which would harm investment and growth. Finally, the administration is pushing to impose a global minimum tax at 21 percent, which would make the United States uncompetitive and lead to inversions and foreign acquisitions.
This isn’t an isolated finding. Polling conducted by HarrisX found that voters believe we should not raise taxes coming out of a pandemic by an overwhelming 80 to 20 margin.
These findings should be instructive to lawmakers as President Biden pushes trillions of dollars in new taxes, even as voters would prefer the administration’s plan be paid for through spending cuts.