Last Night, Biden Suggested “The White House Might Be Willing To Accept Higher Tax Rates On Families Earning More Than $1 Million, A Higher Threshold Than The $250,000 Limit It Has Stood By For Years.” “Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday night delved into one of the most contentious political issues in Washington—taxes—and he might have tweaked the White House’s bargaining stance in the process. He suggested that the White House might be willing to accept higher tax rates on families earning more than $1 million, a higher threshold than the $250,000 limit it has stood by for years.” (Damian Paletta and John D. McKinnon, “Did Biden Open Door For Tweak In Tax Talks,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/11/12)

• Biden: “[P]eople Making A Million Dollars Or More Will Begin To Contribute Slightly More.” BIDEN: “The middle class will pay less, and people making a million dollars or more will begin to contribute slightly more.” (Vice President Joe Biden, “2012 Vice Presidential Debate”, Danville, KY, 10/11/12)

The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker:  “Obama’s Proposed Tax Increase Reaches Farther Down The Income Ladder Than Millionaires.” “Obama’s proposed tax increase reaches farther down the income ladder than millionaires. He wants to roll back Bush-era tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Biden on Bin Laden,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 10/11/12)

Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Schumer And Senate Democrats Disagree With Obama’s Definition Of Rich

Democrats Are Increasingly Abandoning Their Biggest Talking Point On Taxes: Families Earning More Than $250,000 A Year Are ‘Wealthy’ And Should Pay More.” “Democrats are increasingly abandoning their biggest talking point on taxes: Families earning more than $250,000 a year are ‘wealthy’ and should pay more. That figure — $250,000 for a household — has been at the tip of the tongue of so many Democratic candidates and lawmakers in the past few elections that it’s become ingrained in the party’s tax philosophy.” (Manu Raju, “Democrats: $250K Isn’t Rich,” Politico, 10/5/11)

• Democrats Have Become “Increasingly Divided On The Issue.” “But they’ve taken a beating from Republicans and have grown increasingly divided on the issue, since that income level would not only cause tax increases for some small businesses but also hit upper-middle-class suburban voters in swing states.” (Manu Raju, “Democrats: $250K Isn’t Rich,” Politico, 10/5/11)
• Senate Democrats Rejected Obama’s Tax On Incomes Over $250,000, Instead Proposing A Surtax For Incomes Over $1 Million. “And on Wednesday came clear evidence of this shift: Senate Democratic leaders scrapped Obama’s proposal to cover the cost of his jobs bill by raising taxes on income over $250,000 a year, the old Democratic standard for defining the wealthy. Instead, they are proposing a 5.6 percent surtax on annual income of more than $1 million.” (Lori Montgomery, “Democrats Shift The Definition Of ‘Rich’ In Battle Over Taxes,” The Washington Post, 10/5/11)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Asked For The Bush Tax Cuts To Be Extended For Incomes Below $1 Million. “Is House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi abandoning President Barack Obama in his effort to raise taxes on households making more than $250,000? It sure sounded that way on Wednesday. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Ms. Pelosi called on Republicans to pass a permanent extension of Bush-era tax levels for the middle class. The only group Ms. Pelosi singled out for a tax increase was people earning $1 million or more.” (John D. McKinnon, “Pelosi Pushes Tax Hike For Those Making $1 Million Or More,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/23/12)

• Rep. Pelosi: “Democrats Believe That Tax Cuts For Those Earning Over A Million Dollars A Year Should Expire And That We Should Use The Resulting Revenues To Pay Down The Deficit.” (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Letter To Speaker John Boehner, 5/23/12)

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Does Not Support Obama’s Tax On Incomes Over $250,000 Because That Is “Firmly In The Middle Class” And “Not Rich.” “But the president also wanted to raise taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year by limiting income-tax deductions they can take. That didn’t sit well with rank-and-file Democrats. Schumer said families that earn $250,000 or $300,000 a year aren’t rich enough to deserve extra taxes. He described them as ‘firmly in the middle class. They are not rich, and in large parts of the country, that kind of income does not get you a big home or lots of vacations or anything else that’s associated with wealth in America,’ he said.” (S.A. Miller, “Million-Dollar Idea,” New York Post, 10/6/11)

• Sen. Schumer Said That Raising Taxes On Families Over $250,000 “Fuzzies The Picture.” “Democrats have long argued that, in addition to cutting government spending, lawmakers should ask people at the top of the income spectrum to pay more in taxes to help tame the national debt. But setting the dividing line at $250,000, as Obama did during the 2008 campaign, ‘fuzzies the picture,’ said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the leading architect of the surtax proposal.” (Lori Montgomery, “Democrats Shift The Definition Of ‘Rich’ In Battle Over Taxes,” The Washington Post, 10/5/12)
• Sen. Schumer Said Obama’s Tax Plan Would Unfairly Affect The New York Metropolitan Area. “Schumer said the $250,000 limit is unacceptable since it will hit the metropolitan area disproportionately because of the high cost of living here. ‘$250,000 makes you really rich in Mississippi but it doesn’t make you rich at all in New York and there ought to be some kind of scale based on the cost of living on how much you pay,’ Schumer said.” (“Sen. Schumer Expresses Reservations About President Obama’s Tax Plan,” CBS News, 9/20/11)