Tax Hikes in Manchin–Biden Bill Will Crush Middle-Class Americans and Manufacturers, Say Critics

President Joe Biden and the Senate Democrats, on Aug. 7, pushed through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which they claim will fight inflation, lower the federal deficit, and support the green economic polices that they claim will generate economic growth.

The vote was 51–50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

The Senate is scheduled next week to begin voting on a reconciliation bill with the House that may put all of the Build Back Better tax and spending increases back on the table.

The bill is a slimmed-down version of the original Build Back Better plan that failed to pass last year, and many critics are questioning if it will achieve any of its goals, after several studies reviewing the bill came out.

The Democrats claim that it will raise $739 billion in new revenue, create $370 billion in spending on energy and climate change, and remove $300 billion from the federal deficit.

The revised bill gained traction after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) expressed support for it last week after gaining some concessions after stopping the Build Back Better bill last year.

After Manchin made his deal with the Democrat Senate leadership, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said she would support the bill on Aug. 5, after gaining minor concessions.

What’s in the Bill?

The so-called “Schumer–Manchin Bill” will propose a 15 percent corporate minimum tax rate, prescription drug price controls, a $25 billion tax on the oil and gas industry, an expanded Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and closure of the carried interest loophole to pay for “green” energy investments and additional Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions.

The new act proposes to inject $750 billion into an economy already dealing with skyrocketing inflation due to trillions of dollars of pandemic-related stimulus injections and supply-chain chaos.

“Democrats are opening brand-new loopholes for