Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said that the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, which the Senate is likely to bring to a vote this week, does not raise the tax rate for most American families — remarks that are in odds with one of the Republicans' main argument against the legislation.
He argued, however, that the tax burden would fall on Americans in other ways that ultimately mean the average family would be paying more.
When asked if the Democrats' bill — which would tackle inflation, rising prescription drug costs and climate change — is not raising taxes "on certain Americans," including families making under $400,000, Crapo said the measure is "technically" not raising their tax rates.
Crapo then cited two Joint Tax Committee reports Republicans requested on the Democrats' legislation, arguing that the measure's tax "burden" falls on workers, price increases and capital.
"The report found that in 2023, the very first year, the tax burden would increase by $16.7 billion on Americans making less than $200,000 per year," Crapo said, citing the JTC report. Another $14.1 billion, he said, would fall on those earning between $200,000 and $500,000. "That is the reality, regardless of the games that are being played in terms of describing what the taxes are on."
The second report from the JTC, Crapo said, shows that 49.7 percent of the taxes introduced by the legislation would fall on manufacturers.
"This bill will slam manufacturing," he said, arguing that the measure would undo the work Republicans did in 2017 to amend the U.S. tax code.
Senate Democrats, however, ran with the sound bite of Crapo's tax rate comment — tweeting a clip of the Republican senator's remarks.
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