[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 130 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3876-S3877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, ``You don't want to take money out of the 
economy when the economy is shrinking.'' ``You don't want to take money 
out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.'' Those aren't my 
words. Those were the words of the current Democratic leader in 2008: 
``You don't want to take money out of the economy when the economy is 
shrinking.''
  Well, apparently, it is a philosophy the Democratic leader no longer 
subscribes to because, last week, he introduced legislation to take 
money out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.
  The Democrats' so-called Inflation Reduction Act--which is a misnomer 
if ever there was one, since the bill will do nothing to help alleviate 
our current inflation crisis--will take hundreds of billions of dollars 
out of the economy in the form of new tax hikes and comes just as our 
economy posted a second quarter of negative growth.
  Notably, the bill imposes a $313 billion tax hike on American 
businesses, with roughly half of that increase falling on American 
manufacturers. I guess the President's commitment to boosting American 
manufacturing takes a backseat to raising revenue to fund Democrats' 
Green New Deal priorities.
  I don't think I need to tell anyone what happens when you raise taxes 
on businesses, particularly when the economy is shrinking. You get less 
growth, fewer jobs, and lower wages. According to an analysis from the 
National Association of Manufacturers, in 2023 alone, the Democrats' 
bill would reduce real gross domestic product by more than $68 billion 
and result in 218,108 fewer workers in the overall economy--a $68 
billion reduction in GDP and more than 218,000 fewer workers.
  And ordinary Americans would bear a substantial part of the burden of 
this tax increase. According to data from the nonpartisan Joint 
Committee on Taxation, the Democrats' bill would increase the tax 
burden of Americans across every income bracket, with more than half of 
the increased tax burden falling on Americans making $400,000 or less. 
Next year alone, the Democrats' bill would increase the tax burden on 
Americans earning less than $200,000 by $16.7 billion.
  Democrats are brazenly attempting to sell this new tax as somehow 
closing a loophole instead of hiking taxes on American businesses, but 
that isn't even close to being the truth. When companies pay less than 
the current corporate tax rate, they are often simply taking advantage 
of tax credits that Republicans and Democrats put in place to encourage 
investment in things like research and development or the production of 
new technologies.
  Democrats aren't closing a loophole in the tax bill. Let's face it. 
They are raising taxes on American businesses at a time when our 
economy has posted two consecutive quarters of negative growth. They 
are raising taxes on businesses that are already struggling with 
historically high inflation.
  Democrats claim they will make large companies pay at least a 15-
percent minimum tax, but that isn't true either because Democrats have 
created carve-outs to their own minimum tax. That is right. Not all 
companies will have to pay the new book minimum tax. For instance, 
green energy companies and companies that take green energy tax credits 
will be allowed to pay less than the Democrats' alternative minimum 
corporate tax rate. In other words, if you are a member of or invest in 
the Democrats' preferred industries, you get special tax treatment 
under their legislation. So much for ensuring that all companies--all 
companies--``pay their fair share.''

  In addition to their $313 billion tax hike on American businesses, 
Democrats' legislation also raises taxes on investment--another bad 
idea at a time when our economy is already shrinking. Perhaps 
Democrats' real plan is to reduce inflation by slowing our economy and 
ensuring that we enter a recession or what is known as stagflation.
  Democrats' legislation also raises taxes on oil and gas production 
even as Americans continue to struggle with high energy prices, 
including a 75-percent increase in gas prices since President Biden 
took office.
  Taxes aren't the only way the Democrats raise revenue in this bill to 
pay for their Green New Deal measures. The Democrats' bill also 
attempts to raise revenue by increasing IRS audits and enforcement. The 
Democrats' legislation gives the IRS an additional $80 billion in 
funding over 10 years--$80 billion, about six times their annual 
budget. This would allow the IRS to hire an additional 87,000 
employees, meaning that the IRS would have nearly--do you believe 
this?--three times as many personnel as U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, the Agency that is charged with overseeing security at our 
Nation's borders--87,000 new employees. The IRS's budget would also 
substantially exceed Customs and Border Protection's budget if this 
legislation is enacted.
  Now, you might think that given the raging crisis at our southern 
border, the Biden administration would be focused on beefing up funding 
and personnel for Customs and Border Protection instead of the IRS, but 
you would be wrong. Apparently, the need to find money for Democrats' 
Green New Deal trumps the need for a secure border.
  Of the additional $80 billion the Democrats' bill would hand to the 
IRS, 57 percent or more than $45 billion would go to enforcement and 
only 4 percent to taxpayer services. Think about that. Four percent for 
an Agency, as I said on the floor yesterday, that only succeeded in 
answering about 1 out of every 50 taxpayer phone calls during the 2021 
tax season and has repeatedly, as we all know, mishandled sensitive 
taxpayer data.
  To name just one instance, confidential taxpayer information was 
either leaked or hacked from the IRS last year and shared with the 
left-leaning ProPublica in order to advance a partisan agenda. More 
than a year later, the IRS still hasn't provided meaningful followup to 
Congress or accountability to taxpayers for that leak. Yet Democrats' 
focus is not on improving the IRS responsiveness and accountability but 
on boosting the number of audits.
  Speaking of those audits, no one should think the IRS would be just 
auditing major corporations and billionaires. No, this bill would 
result in a lot of audits of small businesses and ordinary Americans. 
In fact, it is extremely unlikely the Democrats will be

[[Page S3877]]

able to gather the revenue they are claiming they can get from 
increased IRS enforcement unless they audit Americans making less than 
$200,000 a year.
  Based on data, again, from the Joint Committee on Taxation, 78 to 90 
percent of the revenue projected to be raised from underreported income 
would likely come from those making under $200,000. Only 4 to 9 percent 
would come from those making more than $500,000. That, again, is from 
the Joint Committee on Taxation.
  I just want to repeat that. Seventy-eight to ninety percent of the 
revenue projected to be raised from underreported income would likely 
come from those making under $200,000 a year. In other words, all this 
talk about audits and, you know, closing the tax gap and forcing people 
to pay taxes that are due that they are not paying today and implying 
that somehow that is all going to apply to high-income taxpayers or big 
corporations or big businesses is just flat inconsistent with the data 
and the facts as compiled by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Up to 90 
percent of the revenue projected to be raised from underreported income 
would come from those making less than $200,000 a year.
  So, Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer, get ready. Get ready for the IRS 
enforcement auditor to come to your house and to start harassing you so 
that the Democrats can pay for their massive tax-and-spending spree.
  After more than a year of high inflation spurred by Democrats' 
reckless American Rescue Plan spending spree passed last year and with 
an economy that has shrunk for the past two quarters, it is hard to 
believe the Democrats are trying to pass hundreds of billions of 
dollars in tax hikes, but that is exactly what is happening. Once 
again, economic common sense is taking a back seat to Democrats' big 
spending and big government ideology.
  Democrats have already inflicted a lot of economic pain on the 
American people, and if this legislation passes, there is more to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.

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