Tipsheet

Biden Makes Ridiculous Claims About the 'Inflation Reduction Act.' Here's What the Law Actually Does.

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  August 17, 2022 12:45 PM

President Joe Biden took a break from his summer vacation this week to sign the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act" into law. During the televised signing, Biden claimed that everyday Americans won't be financially burdened by the multi-billion dollar spending package railroaded to passage by Democratic leadership. However, budget experts say the price tag is an expensive one and working Americans will foot the bill, but the Biden administration hails the passage of the measure as a triumph. Is the Biden-backed law actually a victory for the middle class?

CLAIM: "With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost," Biden declared not once—but twice—during Tuesday's signing ceremony. The president further asserted that congressional "Democrats sided with the American people" while "every single Republican in Congress sided with the special interests."

Biden also reiterated his frequent claim that "no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes."

FACTS: The misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act" will cost the middle class at least a whopping $20 billion in new taxes, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). An analysis by the CBO estimates that Americans earning less than $400,000 yearly, the demographic on which Biden promised not to raise taxes, will pay that much more in taxes over the next decade. The office's preliminary findings directly contradict the White House's claim that "no new audits" would be performed on anybody making under the $400,000-per-year threshold. It was a predictable assessment given the soon-supersized Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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Even the Biden administration's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has acknowledged that the bolstered army of IRS auditors could ramp up collections from middle-class taxpayers. In an Aug. 10 letter to the IRS commissioner, Yellen directed "any additional resources...shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels."

Meanwhile, all 50 Senate Democrats voted along party lines AGAINST Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-ID)'s amendment that would've protected middle-income Americans and small business owners against the onslaught of audits under increased IRS scrutiny. In a Thursday statement, the Republican lawmaker fired back at his progressive colleagues, calling out "every single Democratic senator [who] voted no" when given the opportunity to turn "intent" into "binding statute" during last weekend's vote on the Senate floor.

RATING: Biden's claim that "Democrats sided with the American people" is FALSE.