A new congressional report shows that the tax increase bill approved by the House Ways and Means Committee would increase taxes on millions of taxpayers making less than $400,000. That would violate a pledge President Joe Biden has made repeatedly.
The House tax bill would raise taxes by $2.1 trillion, making it the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history. It contains 45 separate tax increases and would raise taxes on individuals, small businesses, companies, family farms, and other estates. Analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation shows that a substantial number of taxpayers at all income levels would pay more in taxes.
According to the Joint Committee numbers, more than two-thirds of all taxpayers in 2023 would experience either no tax benefit or a tax increase. About 35% of taxpayers earning between $100,000 and $200,000 would face a tax increase. By 2027, more than 85% of taxpayers would receive either no benefit or see a tax increase.
Middle-income taxpayers would be hit hard. Nearly 60% of taxpayers earning between $75,000 and $100,000, roughly the national median family income, would face a tax increase.
then, the average tax rate for every income level above $40,000 would be higher than it is today. That’s $40,000 — not $400,000!
A separate analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that 58% of all households would pay more in taxes in 2022. Seventy percent of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 would face higher taxes. This study shows that 76% of all taxpayers would face a tax increase in 2026. Millions of these taxpayers earn far less than $400,000.
Again, it’s a direct violation of the Biden pledge.
It gets worse. Under this bill, most taxpayers would face not only higher taxes but also higher consumer prices, lower wages, and lower retirement savings. The higher taxes would slow economic output and disrupt economic recovery, and the higher spending would increase the national debt to record-high levels.
Put simply, a vote for this bill would be a vote for the largest expansion of taxes, spending, and debt in history. Congress should vote it down, and Biden should keep his word.
