Reality-checking Sen. Rick Scott’s claims his new plan doesn’t elevate individuals’s taxes
On Tuesday, Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott unveiled a collection of insurance policies below his 11-point “Rescue America” plan, which consists of finishing the border wall then naming it after former President Donald Trump and a name for all Individuals to pay an revenue tax.
After Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer and White Home press secretary Jen Psaki each criticized Scott for proposing to lift taxes, he went on Fox to defend his plan.
Fox’s Sean Hannity known as out Schumer’s criticism particularly, joking that the plan to lift taxes should have been in “invisible ink.”
“Chuckie Schumer saying that your plan is to lift taxes on greater than half of Individuals. I didn’t see that in your plan. Did you’ve that in your plan? Was that in invisible ink within the copy that I acquired?,” Hannity requested, to which Scott responded, “After all not.”
Information First: That is false. Scott’s plan does name for elevating taxes, particularly that each one Individuals ought to pay “some” revenue tax, even the “over half” of Individuals who don’t at the moment pay any.
One of many 11 factors in Scott’s plan focuses on the financial system and development, particularly his aim to “develop America’s financial system, starve Washington’s financial system, and cease Socialism.” Scott’s plan to attain this consists of a number of motion objects together with that “All Individuals ought to pay some revenue tax to have pores and skin within the sport, even when a small quantity.” He states that “at the moment over half of Individuals pay no revenue tax,” suggesting that below his plan taxes could be raised for these Individuals.
Whereas it’s true that over half of American households paid no federal revenue tax for the previous two years, the non-profit Tax Coverage Heart estimates that quantity will fall to below 42% this 12 months. And based on an August 2021 Tax Coverage Heart report, most of these households don’t have federal revenue tax legal responsibility as a result of their family revenue is beneath a sure threshold. A number of households have additionally benefited from stimulus packages and tax credit score expansions handed in response to the pandemic which can have decreased or eradicated their federal tax legal responsibility in 2020 or 2021.
When requested to make clear the Florida senator’s feedback, NRSC spokesman Chris Hartline advised CNN that, “No Republican within the nation has been an even bigger advocate for chopping taxes than Rick Scott and he’ll at all times assist tax cuts. Senator Scott believes that everybody ought to pay their justifiable share, and everybody ought to have pores and skin within the sport. “
Nonetheless, it’s deceptive for Scott to counsel those that don’t at the moment pay federal revenue tax don’t have any “pores and skin within the sport.” The Tax Coverage Heart reported that “practically everybody,” even those that don’t pay federal revenue tax, paid some type of taxes, like gross sales taxes or payroll taxes.
