I hope you saw my latest weekly column.

ROGER WICKER: Democrats Plan to Raise Taxes in Middle of Recession

President Biden’s new tax-and-spend legislation is totally disconnected from the needs of our country. After causing massive inflation with last year’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, President Biden and his party are now pushing a massive tax hike on job creators and working Americans, all but guaranteeing that we will sink further into a recession.

For months, Democrat Senator Joe Manchin had blocked his party’s attempts to raise taxes, citing concerns over inflation. Last fall, he said the President’s tax-and-spend proposal was full of “shell games” and “accounting gimmicks,” and that he could not support a tax hike in the current economic climate. Stunningly, he has done a 180. The West Virginian is now locking arms with President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to support a $739 billion tax bill, which they are dishonestly calling the “Inflation Reduction Act.”

New Taxes Would Impact Everyone

President Biden has repeatedly vowed not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. This tax-and-spend bill would shatter that promise. The biggest item listed in the bill is a $313 billion tax on job creators and manufacturers, which are already struggling to survive inflation. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation predicts that this tax alone would reduce our gross domestic product and cost roughly 30,000 jobs. It would also depress worker wages while causing further price increases across the economy. The tax would fall hardest on coal workers, whose industry would face a net tax increase of 7.2 percent. It would also hit wireless telecom providers, potentially hurting efforts to build 5G networks across the country.

American energy would take a huge hit from this legislation. Natural gas, which is already under assault by the President’s regulations, would be taxed at an estimated $8 billion, costing some 90,000 jobs. This tax would drive up the average family’s natural gas bill by 17 percent, according to the American Gas Association. In addition, the bill’s tax on oil imports would put needless upward pressure on gas prices, which are still far too high.

Despite this bill’s name, it would do virtually nothing to quell our inflation crisis, which Democrats unleashed with last year’s stimulus bill. According to Moody’s Analytics – one of President Biden’s preferred sources – this bill would cut inflation over the next decade by a mere 0.33 percent, equal to about two weeks of inflation at today’s rate. Experts at the University of Pennsylvania are even less optimistic, saying the bill would have little to no impact on inflation. Calling this bill the “Inflation Reduction Act” is false advertising.

Green Subsidies for the Wealthy

After taxing manufacturers and workers, Democrats plan to spend $250 billion in tax revenue on wasteful subsidies that would largely benefit the wealthy. Their bill would provide $7,500 in tax credits for those who buy electric vehicles costing up to $80,000. These credits would be available for families making as much as $300,000. This is an obscene form of socialism for the rich – taking money from middle class taxpayers and giving it to high-end car buyers. If this legislation becomes law, Democrats will bear even more responsibility for government waste, continued inflation, and the recession we will all have to endure.

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Thank you for your support,

Senator Roger Wicker