McCarthy's bamboozling claim on Biden's tax hikes for the rich Top economic forecasters broadly agreed last year that virtually all the revenue in Joe Biden's tax plan would come from the uber-wealthy or corporations — about half of the money from the top 0.1 percent, and three-quarters from the top 1 percent. Biden's proposed corporate tax increase added a wrinkle in these forecasts. While individuals would not be directly affected, companies in theory could pass on some of the cost to people making less than $400,000. These increases are relatively small, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, an average of $15 for the bottom quintile of taxpayers, $90 for the second quintile and $180 for the middle quintile. Enter Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House minority leader and frequent Pinocchio-getter. "President Biden said no one making under $400,000 will see their federal taxes go up. That's a lie, just like he lied about Afghanistan," McCarthy told reporters last week. "In fact, under his plan, an average family who earns over $50,000 will see a tax increase." The claim is being repeated by many House Republicans. We gave it Three Pinocchios in a detailed fact check available at the link below. A McCarthy spokesman sent estimates of the House Democrats' proposal for the years 2027, 2029 and 2031 compiled by the Joint Committee on Taxation and said: "The JCT tables (attached) clearly show that the average tax rates and gross amount of taxes rise for filers in income ranges well below $400,000- including those who make $50,000 a year." However, part of the reason for that is Republican tax cuts from 2017 that benefit people in those income brackets begin to expire in 2025, which McCarthy failed to mention. The JCT distribution tables for earlier years — 2023 and 2025 — actually show sharp decreases in taxes for taxpayers making $50,000 because the Democrats' proposed tax cuts for the lower and middle class outweigh the possible impact of the corporate tax increase. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. Jayapal's claim on support for abortion funding Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the House progressive caucus and a key negotiator in the party's spending talks, like many Democrats opposes the Hyde amendment and its broad prohibition on federal funds being used for abortions. "The Hyde amendment is something that the majority of the country does not support," she said in a CNN interview this week. Jayapal was relying on a poll released by a pro-choice organization, which found 62 percent support and 38 percent opposition to using Medicaid for funding medical services, including abortion, for low-income women. A more comprehensive review of independent polling shows lower support, hovering around the 50-percent mark. Poll results tend to be very sensitive to the wording of the questions, and the poll Jayapal cited asked a mouthful. But her claim is not entirely unsupported by the surveys we found, and it's possible attitudes have been changing in recent years. She earned Two Pinocchios. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @AdriUsero) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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