House Republicans to Vote on Bill to Abolish IRS
House Republicans are set to vote on a bill that would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and introduce a national-consumption tax to replace the existing federal income-tax scheme.
House speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to put the Fair Tax Act on the floor as one of a number of concessions he made to House Freedom Caucus members last week in a bid to secure the speakership. The bill was introduced by Representative Buddy Carter (R., Ga.) on Wednesday and has also received the support of Republican representatives Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Bob Good of Virginia, and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
“Cosponsoring this Georgia-made legislation was my first act as a Member of Congress and is, fittingly, the first bill I am introducing in the 118th Congress,” Representative Carter said in a press release.
The Fair Tax Act seeks to upend the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats during last year’s Congress. A funding package within the latter would pave the way for hiring tens of thousands of new IRS employees.
“Instead of adding 87,000 new agents to weaponize the IRS against small business owners and middle America, this bill will eliminate the need for the department entirely by simplifying the tax code with provisions that work for the American people and encourage growth and innovation. Armed, unelected bureaucrats should not have more power over your paycheck than you do.”
The announcement comes following Monday’s House vote which saw Republicans pass a bill to curb $80 billion earmarked for the IRS over the coming decade. Although the legislation will assuredly fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate, the symbolic gesture drew strong criticism from the Office of Management and Budget.
“With their first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe,” the federal agency asserted in a statement Monday.
Fellow bill cosponsor, South Carolina Republican representative Jeff Duncan, highlighted the IRS’s continued strain on everyday Americans.
“As a former small business owner, I understand the unnecessary burden our failing income tax system has on Americans. The Fair Tax Act eliminates the tax code, replaces the income tax with a sales tax, and abolishes the abusive Internal Revenue Service. If enacted, this will invigorate the American taxpayer and help more Americans achieve the American Dream,” Duncan said.
Representative Carter’s press release nodded to former Georgia representative John Linder being a driving force behind “eliminating all personal and corporate income taxes, the death tax, gift taxes, and the payroll tax.”
