WASHINGTON – Today, Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization with two million grassroots activists, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson following the passage of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With today’s vote, Congressional Democrats have made their strategy clear: tax the American people into oblivion, punish the middle class, and destroy American innovation. The so-called Inflation Reduction Act is a deliberate attack on families, taxpayers, American energy, manufacturers, and small businesses in the name of ‘transitioning’ to a fake ‘Green’ economy while doing nothing to reduce inflation.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to lie about the severity of the economic crisis that policies like this have created. They have tried to redefine the term ‘recession,’ blame everyone else from Putin to oil companies to Republicans, and are now trying to get us to believe that the 8.5% inflation we’re experiencing every day is actually 0% inflation.
Americans aren’t buying what the Left is selling. We already feel the effects of Biden’s inflation crisis and the growing recession, but even the Left knows this legislation will make life harder and more expensive. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between buying their children school supplies and filling up their gas tanks. We expect more out of our representatives than increased taxes, 87,000 new IRS agents, and billions in radical Green New Deal spending. American families and small businesses will not forget this vote come November.
BACKGROUND:
The U.S. House of Representatives today voted to pass the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act 220-207. Heritage Action key voted against this legislation. The bill will now head to the White House for President Biden’s signature.
INCREASES TAXES: Despite the Left’s promise that the legislation would not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 per year, research from the Heritage Foundation proves that to be another lie. In fact, the legislation will hike taxes for Americans in nearly every income category by nearly half a trillion dollars.
HARMS MANUFACTURING: One of the largest tax provisions in the legislation is a 15% book minimum tax. This would raise taxes by about $222 billion for a variety of industries, but would most significantly impact the manufacturing industry with the Joint Committee on Taxation estimating that manufacturers would shoulder approximately 50% of that tax. For reference, manufacturers only account for around 11% of the economy. Research from the Heritage Foundation highlights that manufacturers in Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Kentucky would be the hardest hit.
WEAPONIZES THE IRS: The legislation increases the budget for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by $80 billion – six times the agency’s budget – to hire 87,000 new agents. While the Biden administration again promised that these IRS agents will not target middle-class Americans, research shows that IRS audits primarily target taxpayers earning less than an adjusted gross income of $50,000. In addition to middle and working-class Americans, small businesses and sole proprietors typically are at the most significant risk of IRS audits.
NEW MEDICARE PRICE CONTROLS: One of the most egregious provisions in the legislation allows the government to set prices in Medicare. In practice, this will result in a drastic reduction in innovation in the pharmaceutical industry because it will create a major disincentive for pharmaceutical companies to undergo the expensive development of new life-saving drugs.
EXTENDS OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES: The legislation also includes an election year gimmick to extend Obamacare subsidies, even for the wealthy. American taxpayers will front the $64 billion to “enhance” Obamacare subsidies, even for wealthy recipients.
SPENDS BILLIONS ON GREEN NEW DEAL: This new tax revenue will be used to fund progressive priorities, like destroying the fossil fuel industry and enacting radical parts of the Green New Deal. Specifically, the legislation includes almost $370 billion for handouts and subsidies to unreliable “renewable” energy industries like wind and solar, while increasing costs for gas and oil on federal lands. Additionally, the bill includes a tax credit for those wealthy enough to afford a pricey electric vehicle.
ADDS TO BIDEN’S RADICAL CLIMATE AGENDA: The ultimate goal of the Left’s radical climate agenda is to cut greenhouse gas emissions between 2023-2040 through administrative regulations and legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act. This will come at a massive cost to American taxpayers. According to the Heritage Foundation, it will result in an annual $2 per gallon increase in gas starting in 2024, more than 1.2 million jobs lost every year, $5,100 in lost average income for a family of four, and an aggregate GDP loss of over $7.7 trillion over the 18-year horizon.