Biden’s tax plan: Count many in with 50 Cent

This week the internet has been abuzz about hip-hop star Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, throwing his support behind President Trump. A series of posts on social media expressed the rapper’s support for the current administration.

In a nation presently fixated on issues of race, 50 Cent expressed his belief that Trump cares about a certain color more than Joe Biden. That color is green.

After taking a close look at Biden’s absurd proposed tax plan, which would lead New York’s residents to be taxed at an astronomical 62 percent, the rapper declared: “IM OUT.” He added, “Don’t care Trump doesn’t like black people. 62% are you out of ya f-ing mind.”

The truth is that Trump does care about Black people and has pursued policies that have elevated communities of color. By questioning the logic and fairness of Biden’s aggressive tax increases, 50 Cent is raising the same concerns being expressed across the country by successful men and women from all races. 

Before and after COVID-19 hit, our surging economy was benefiting hugely from having a businessman in the Oval Office. During his nearly four years in office, President Trump has demonstrated the foolhardiness of previously entrusting our nation’s economy to career politicians and others who have never built businesses or had to make payroll even once.

President Trump, like 50 Cent and millions of other Americans, understands that success is earned, and that people should be rewarded, not punished, for their accomplishments. What Biden and the Democrats don’t understand is that dramatically raising taxes on corporations, businesses and entrepreneurs creates penalties on success. This discourages businesses from growing larger, curbing their need to hire people or create jobs.

And that truly damages all Americans. Small businesses are the engine of our national economy, employing nearly half of all U.S. workers. Biden’s tax plan will do material harm to their finances, forcing difficult decisions about budgeting, hiring or firing employees, and passing along the financial pain to those who rely upon them.

This ripple effect isn’t the only alarming loss we would encounter under Biden’s ill-advised tax proposal. Those making more than $400,000 individually, or $450,000 for those filing jointly, would see their tax rates jump from 37 percent to 39.6 percent. Incredibly, the top long-term capital gain and qualified dividend tax rate would double from 20 percent to 39.6 percent, with an additional 3.8 percent surtax on net investment income — resulting in a tax rate of 43.4 percent, not including state taxes. The corporate tax rate would leap from 21 percent to 28 percent.

Additionally, the nation’s top 1 percent of earners would shoulder 15.9 percent more tax burdens than in years past, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

Biden promotes himself as a champion of the people, but his approach to taxes reveals him to be Robin Hood — stealing from the wealth creators to redistribute it to the poor.

“I don’t want to be 20cent,” quipped 50 Cent, but there are plenty of other Americans who don’t want to be short-changed by a tax-and-spend liberal hoping that increasing Uncle Sam’s take is the answer to solving the nation’s social ills. As Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone correctly pointed out, the brunt of the Biden plan’s impact will fall on the middle class, putting them “in peril.”

The Biden-Harris tax “plan” is the latest evidence that we cannot entrust our financial future to career politicians.

America’s voters are contemplating the real-life financial consequences that will befall them if they throw their lot in with the Democrats, rather than allowing President Trump to do what the financial community perceives he does best — create jobs and position the business community for success. 

Will a Trump victory propel our country forward? Does Biden’s tax policy alone show that Americans cannot afford the risk of his election? That and many other critical issues facing Americans will be answered on Nov. 3, or shortly after.

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is the owner and manager of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. He is the author of “Reawakening Virtues.”