Speaker Mike Johnson is mocking and dismissing several reports finding House Republicans’ legislation allegedly “offsetting” $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel to fight Hamas terrorists by defunding the IRS will cost U.S. taxpayers up to $90 billion.
Republicans want to gut a portion of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which increases funding for IRS to pursue taxpayers who make over $400,000 annually but are not paying the appropriate amount of taxes.
Republicans’ “plan to ‘offset’ Israel aid will cost $90 billion, IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel tells me,” reports The Washington Post’s congressional economics correspondent Jacob Bogage.
“All of those funds go to increased scrutiny on tax evasion going on at the highest wealth levels,” Werfel also told him.
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“The nonpartisan budget office [CBO] estimated that the GOP bill would add $12.5 billion to the deficit through 2033 — far less than Werfel’s estimate of $90 billion — and projected it would result in $26.8 billion in lost tax revenue,” The Post reports separately, but that CBO estimate methodology was dictated by the direction House Republicans put in the bill on how the CBO was allowed to calculate the legislation’s impact.
Noted economist and professor Justin Wolfers blasted right-wing writer Stephen Moore, pointing out that “Funding the IRS pays for itself (plus some)…”
“Reminder,” commented civil rights and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler, Speaker Johnson “is attempting to use a terrorist attack to save tax cheats $90B EVEN WHILE the single solitary thing House GOP has done since January is pursue Hunter Biden for tax crimes.”
Responding to one report that says House Republicans’ bill would cost $27 billion, The White House’s Andrew Bates writes: “That’s a hell of a price the @HouseGOP wants to make Americans pay just so they can politicize defense support for Israel and give Russia a pass for killing Ukrainians with Iranian weapons.”
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Fox News asked Speaker Johnson if he was “surprised” by the CBO’s projection.
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“Only in Washington when you cut spending do they call it an increase in the deficit,” replied Johnson, mocking both the CBO and its score of the GOP legislation.
Watch Johnson below or at this link.