Democratic Senators have banded together behind a resolution in opposition to a radical proposal from certain House Republicans that would abolish federal income taxes but replace those with a national sales tax of 30 percent.
Although there is no indication the initiative even has enough support to pass the House, where Republicans are in the majority, the fact any current members of Congress would get behind such an idea is startling, although some of these people obviously often stick to extreme ideas. There are familiar names on the far-right among those supporting the House proposal, including GOP Reps. Scott Perry (Pa.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), and Byron Donalds (Fla.). Imposing a national sales tax would disproportionately affect those earning less, since if flat rates of taxes were applied to all purchases, that could easily take up a larger portion of a lower-income American’s earnings.
The new resolution from Democratic Senators blasts how “the price increases brought on by the FairTax Act of 2023 would disproportionately impact retirees, seniors, and those living on a fixed income by raising prices on individuals whose incomes will remain flat as prices rise.” The measure also expresses support for the prospect of a tax cut oriented around benefits to everyday Americans rather than only the high-earners who could benefit to an extreme extent by just eliminating income taxes. “A national sales tax is an awful idea — we don’t have one in Montana, and we don’t need the federal government imposing one on us,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said. “At a time when working families are getting killed by inflation along with rising health care and housing costs, the last thing we need is to raise prices on everything from gas to groceries. That’s why I’ll take on anyone to stop this plan and make sure DC politicians don’t raise taxes on hardworking Montanans.”
Others already onboard with the resolution include Democratic Senators from Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, and other states. President Joe Biden himself has already expressed fervent opposition to the idea of the national sales tax, the proposal for which was evidently referred for consideration by the House Ways and Means Committee. GOP leaders in the House have expressed opposition to the idea, although the persistence of the proposal exemplifies the kind of policy concepts with which the U.S. could be threatened should far-right zealots gain more expansive political power. Biden has also expressed opposition to another measure the House GOP already passed undoing additional funding for the IRS that Democrats previously got approved. Despite the House’s approval, that was always unlikely to go anywhere, considering Dems control the Senate.
