Is the national sales tax bill DEAD? Top Republicans say they WON'T back it trends now
Top Republicans have swatted away the idea of abolishing the IRS and replacing federal income tax with a national sales tax.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill this week he would not get behind the Fair Tax Act, a bill proposed by some in his caucus that would impose up to a 30 percent tax on all sales.
When pressed if he would bring the bill up for a floor vote, McCarthy said it 'would have to go through committee.'
A vote on the bill was reportedly promised as part of the deal to get McCarthy the Speaker's gavel.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., has so far amassed 30 co-sponsors. It would eliminate all income taxes, payroll taxes, estate taxes and gift taxes in favor of the one flat tax that would render the IRS obsolete.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., has so far amassed 30 co-sponsors. It would eliminate all income taxes, payroll taxes, estate taxes and gift taxes in favor of the one flat tax that would render the IRS obsolete
But Majority Leader Steve Scalise is not on board either - instead he told The Hill he backs making permanent the tax cuts from President Trump's 2017 bill.
'We made the code more simplified and got rid of a lot of loopholes, and so I want to see us continue focusing on the fairness and simplicity of a tax code,' Scalise argued.
He also seemed to cast doubt on whether the bill would make it to the House floor.
'Any member can file a bill,' Scalise said. 'That doesn't mean the bill is going to pass the committee or pass the floor.'
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters they are not behind the Fair Tax Act
'That's why we went back to regular order,' he added. 'We got rid of a lot of the [former Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [(D-Calif.)] rules, where a bill is written in the Speaker's office and dumped on everybody. You know, take it or leave it. That's not how we're doing business.'
Proponents of a consumption tax argue that the system allows Americans to choose how much they pay in taxes by choosing how much they spend - thus incentivizing savings and investment.
The bill came on the heels of a vote to claw back $72billion of some $80billion in additional funding Democrats gave to the IRS last Congress, much of which is slated to hire 87,000 new IRS agents.
