Democratic Party
08/10/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/10/2022 12:04
FACT CHECK: Inflation Reduction Act Goes After Corporate and Ultra-Wealthy Tax Cheats Arrow
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is spreading lies in a desperate attempt to distract Americans from the fact that Republicans oppose lower costs for families and reducing the deficit.
FACT: The Inflation Reduction Act will ensure tax cheats who avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes pay their fair share. Audit rates will not increase for middle-class families.
Associated Press: "The 'Inflation Reduction Act'… would not create a mob of armed auditors looking to harass middle-class taxpayers, as some Republicans are claiming."
TIME: "'It is wholly inaccurate to describe any of these resources as being about increasing audit scrutiny of the middle class or small businesses,' Natasha Sarin, a counselor for tax policy and implementation at the Treasury Department, [said]."
CNBC: "IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said the $80 billion in funding would not increase audits of households making less than $400,000 per year."
In case there was any confusion - GOP efforts to gut the IRS have benefitted tax cheats, corporations, and the ultra-rich at the expense of middle-class Americans.
New York Magazine: "The GOP Gutted the IRS - and the Rich Made Out Like Bandits"
Los Angeles Times: "The IRS has been on a congressionally imposed starvation diet virtually since the 1970s, which has been a get-out-of-paying ticket for corporations and the wealthy for all that time."
Washington Post: "But experts say that's a condition brought about largely by GOP policies, which drove the IRS into more audits of poorer taxpayers by depriving the agency of the resources it would have taken to go after wealthier targets who shelter potentially much higher sums."
This isn't a partisan issue. 73 percent of Americans, including majorities across party lines, support tougher crackdowns on corporations and the ultra-wealthy who are avoiding paying the taxes they owe.
Make no mistake: Republicans are choosing to side with tax cheats over hardworking Americans. While Democrats work to make sure corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, Republicans are helping them continue to line their own pockets.