Biden calls Republicans “fiscally crazy” in address on MLK Day

• Biden referred to Republicans as “fiscally deranged”.
• They campaigned on inflation said Biden.
• President Joe Biden attacked House Republicans’ tax agenda.

On Monday, President Joe Biden attacked House Republicans’ tax agenda, criticising their efforts to halt new financing for the Internal Revenue Service, disband the federal tax authority, and repeal the income tax in favour of a federal tax on consumption.

Biden referred to Republicans as “fiscally deranged” and promised to veto their tax proposal, which is almost expected to be defeated in the Democratic-controlled Senate, while speaking at the National Action Network’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington, D.C.

“Raising taxes on working families, making inflation worse,” he said. “Let me be clear, if any of these bills happened to reach my desk, I will veto them.”

The first bill, introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska, would cancel more than $70 million in additional IRS spending that was approved last year as part of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. This spending included funds for the hiring of 87,000 new agents, a move that has drawn criticism from Republicans. On a party-line vote of 221-210, the House approved that bill.

Biden expressed his “disappointment.” The new GOP majority initially voted on Smith’s measure, which was opposed by the middle class and wealthy taxpayers alike because it “would enable the wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes.”

“All these new IRS agents we have is because they fired a lot of them, a lot are retiring and guess what? Who needs serious agents to know what they’re doing or not doing? The billionaires, the multi-multimillionaires,” he said, noting the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected the bill would add $114 billion to the deficit. “This is their first bill. They campaigned on inflation. They didn’t say if elected their plan was to make inflation worse.”

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., unveiled the other tax proposal that is in Biden’s sights last week. It would destroy the Internal Revenue Service, do away with income taxes, and replace them with a federal consumption tax. The Senate is also likely to reject the bill.

“What in God’s name is that all about, other than what is obvious?” Biden said. “They want working-class folks to be paying another 10, 20% of their taxes depending on where they live and how they spend their money. And they’re going to reduce taxes for the super wealthy.”

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