WASHINGTON, DC – House Ways and Means Committee Republicans questioned Secretary Yellen about the Biden Administration’s plans to spend $80 billion to hire 87,000 agents to audit working-class families, raise taxes by $4.7 trillion, and its failure to reassure the public about the IRS’s politically motivated leaks of confidential tax information.
In his opening statement, Chairman Smith urged the Treasury Department to address the trust gap with the American people after President Biden’s repeated economic failures and ongoing IRS abuses:
“After two years of economic failures, the American people desperately want results. The budget before us today calls for $4.7 trillion in new taxes and $6.9 trillion in new spending, during a staggering debt crisis.”
“The American people are struggling. We know because they told us so in Yukon, Oklahoma, and in Petersburg, West Virginia, during hearings with this Committee.”
“The President’s budget means more pain, with $1.8 trillion in new taxes on Main Street businesses, many of which still have “Help Wanted” signs hanging in their windows because of the Democrat-fueled worker shortage.”
“The $650 billion small business surtax will hit mom-and-pop small businesses, violating President Biden’s pledge not to increase taxes on small businesses.”
“The $77 billion increase in the death tax will force family farms and ranches to sell their assets or risk closing their doors.”
“The $37 billion in new taxes on American-made energy will kill jobs, raise prices, and make us more dependent on foreign countries for our energy needs.”
“After Democrats handed the IRS an $80 billion raise last year, taxpayers are now asked in this budget to hand the IRS another $43.2 billion? I have to ask: Is this a joke?”
“After a two-year inflation crisis that has cost American workers more than two months of pay, families need every penny they can get. But they can’t even get their own refunds back because of the historic backlog at the IRS. And they can’t get through to a human being at the agency because of the terrible customer service.”
“The IRS needs to address its “trust gap.”
Chairman Smith highlighted President Biden IRS’s pattern of abusing taxpayers, which raises serious questions of why the IRS needs another $43.2 billion for more agents to conduct more audits on top of the $80 billion they received last year from Washington Democrats:
Families and small businesses being hit by inflation can’t afford a $4.7 trillion tax hike. Chairman Smith walked through some of the worst tax hikes in Biden’s budget that violate the President’s pledge to not raise taxes on middle-class Americans:
During the hearing, Chairman Smith followed-up on his letter to Secretary Yellen yesterday, demanding the Biden Administration make public to Congress the legislative text of their $4.7 trillion tax proposal in President Biden’s budget. Secretary Yellen refused to commit to providing the American people – and Congress – more detailed information about how taxes will rise under the President’s plan and exactly which American families would be impacted.
While President Biden’s budget requests $43.2 billion in new funding for the IRS, the Biden Administration still has not publicly released its plan for how it will use the $80 billion it received last year in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. Chairman Smith noted that the majority of the funding requested for the IRS is dedicated to enforcement – on top of the $80 billion Democrats gave the agency last year. Secretary Yellen committed to making the plan public in a matter of “weeks.”
The Bottom Line: It’s clear from Secretary Yellen’s testimony that the American people have plenty to be worried about in President Biden’s budget, which doubles down on the very same failed economic policies that have fueled inflation, raised their taxes, and empowered an unaccountable IRS.
Last year’s insane omnibus spending bill, that Mitch McConnell and other RINOs in the Senate signed onto, essentially institutionalized a new baseline for the federal budget going forward. Everything is now recalculated based off of those highly inflated spending levels going forward. Note the near complete silence from Mitch and the other RINOs who assisted him last year on this new budget request from Joe Biden. That should tell you something, if you were paying attention.
The federal budget before Covid was approximately $4.5 trillion dollars a year. Now that the Covid “emergency” is over, one would rightfully expect the federal budget to return to pre-Covid spending levels plus the usual 7 percent annual bump that Congress has routinely granted all federal departments and agencies with no questions asked. That would still be a federal budget under $5 trillion dollars today. Instead, Biden put forth a budget request of nearly $6.9 trillion dollars and his priorities continue to reflect the “progressive” view of reshaping the United States into a socialist dictatorship. Is anyone really surprised? I’m not. Anytime you hand government more money that it really needs for legitimate purposes, it always ends up coming back for more the next time around.
As for Yellen and the IRS expansion, what did anyone think all those 80,000 new IRS agents and expanded budget would be used for? Of course, the middle class will be the primary target for more audits and general harassment from the IRS. For anyone thinking the poor will be somehow exempt, they should really read some of the proposals buried in Biden’s budget. Everyone is targeted going forward, no matter what President Dementia or Janet Yellen may say otherwise. There is simply NO WAY to fund the vastly expanded power and reach of the federal government into all aspects of our lives and the overall economy without bleeding everyone, at all levels of the economic spectrum, for every last cent the federal government can get its hands on. In some ways, if this new budget gets even partially approved, we will be higher taxed than many of our European counterparts. That should frighten everyone given how anemic most of the economies of Europe have been for decades due to their anti-growth tax policies.
Up until a couple of years ago, the entire federal government ran on $4.5 trillion dollars of taxpayer money. Now Team Biden wants to increase the tax bite to the American people by more than double that by asking for another $4.7 trillion dollars in new taxes. This is how you ramp up inflation further, while also killing the economy of this country going forward. This is a far larger story than just the expanded budget of the IRS. This is how you permanently downsize the American economy and substantially lower everyone’s standard of living going forward. Think people.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 116:11 that all men are liars. Do you need more proof? Good thing God has the final say on Judgment Day. No matter what God is in control. Glad that I can depend on God (dog). Through it all I trust God has my back. At least He keeps His promises; with no strings attached.
That phuqr in the White House is our (America’s) greatest enemy, and his party is a demonic army. ????
US Citizens are seeing what happens when a rigged election comes to power. The DemocRat way to hide their economic ineptitude is to engage in a War …. LBJ, FDR, etc.
I am not sure we survive until 2024. What I find amazing is how many Americans are still asleep or not caring and thinking this is just politics. I’ve been awake since Obama. In fact, Biden is duping almost the same pattern of events like his but ramped up. Another amazing thing is they tell you what they are going to do or set the narrative. It’s the same pattern if you have been paying attention.
I know Veterans who get upset when I try and talk to them about all these things. I think asong as people stay on a lull, by going back to life, food and a job, they won’t wake up. I have accepted this and will have to look out for myself and a few family members.
All one needs to do is go to the WEF website they don’t hide it. Additionally, all the other events in each country all match or the leaders are in lock step. I don’t know how much more people need to be shown.
So read the transcripts from the G22 summit from king Charles. Frightening. I said 25 years ago communism is on the March again and that our judicial system was wacked. Communism creep…
Why worry about China, when we have Feds doing a bang of a good job