At Split Ends on Tax Increase

Residents Around $250,000 Mark Disagree on Fairness, Effect

In a posh salon in the heart of Potomac, JoAnn Pearlman was getting her hair colored, a skim latte in hand -- not the least bit ruffled by the budget proposal that President Obama unveiled, even though her pocketbook would clearly take a hit.

Her family income is more than $250,000, which puts her among those who would be most affected by the proposed tax law changes.

"I look at the big picture, and I think, 'This isn't an individual thing we're in right now,' " said Pearlman, 58, a registered independent, as she prepared for her youngest son's upcoming wedding. "This is a global and national situation. We are citizens, and we have to do what we have to do to get our economy on track again."

In a region with markedly high incomes -- and a high cost of living -- the Obama plan would affect the wealthy and those who think their lives have a lot more in common with the middle class.

Census figures provide no breakdown on families that make more than $250,000, but they do show that one in seven families in the Washington region earn more than $200,000 a year. In 35 locales, including the District, more than 10 percent bring in that much. The most affluent pockets are McLean and Potomac, where almost 45 percent of families hit that mark. About 12 percent of the District's families do.

Although sentiments such as Pearlman's stood out yesterday, the idea of paying taxes was not universally embraced. Some took a bit of offense at being thought of as so well-off that they could afford to pay more than they do now.

"I work six days a week," said Amanda Ta, 44, a hairstylist, who added that her combined family income could be high enough to hit the threshold. "I work 10 to 12 hours a day. What is the reward for someone like me to work harder?"

As analysts debated the losers and winners in the budget proposal, Ta and others weighed its personal effects -- or chose to see beyond them.

Edward James Leydan, a tax lawyer with an office on K Street, said he is unfazed by the tax increase, which he predicted could bring him additional clients even as it bleeds his bank account. A Democrat who voted for Obama, Leydan said the country's mounting economic challenges require sacrifices he is willing to make.

"What is it that Kennedy said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you'?" he said, standing outside his office building. "You know what? I'll bite the bullet.

"If it's a matter of growing a bigger pie," he said, "I'm willing to give up a bigger slice."

Said Shellie Steinberg, 69, a retired interior designer who lives in Potomac: "It's a plan. At least it's a plan." Steinberg said she has voted Republican and Democratic in the past. "Whether it'll work or not, I don't know."