Republicans say Biden spending bill raises taxes on average Americans — and offer evidence to prove it

President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise that he would not raise taxes on Americans who earn less than $400,000 per year.

"Let me be very clear: If you make under $400,000 you won’t pay a penny more in taxes under my administration," Biden vowed in October 2020.

But that is exactly what the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act" does, according to new analysis from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

What did the JCT find?

The nonpartisan organization found that Americans in nearly every tax bracket will pay more taxes if the Inflation Reduction Act becomes law.

In 2023, for example, Americans who earn less than $10,000 will see their average tax rate increase by 0.3%, while Americans earning $30,000–$75,000 will see their average tax rate increase by 0.1%, and Americans earning more than $75,000 per year will see tax increases than range from 0.2%–0.6%.

The average increase across all income brackets in 2023 would be 0.3%, the analysis found.

Gradual tax increases would continue in subsequent years, although they do moderate by year 2031, according to JCT.

The initial year increase amounts to nearly $17 billion in total from Americans who earn less than $200,000 annually, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) explained in a press release.

"Americans are already experiencing the consequences of Democrats' reckless economic policies. The mislabeled 'Inflation Reduction Act' will do nothing to bring the economy out of stagnation and recession, but it will raise billions of dollars in taxes on Americans making less than $400,000," Crapo said.

"The more this bill is analyzed by impartial experts, the more we can see Democrats are trying to sell the American people a bill of goods" he explained. "Non-partisan analysts are confirming this bill raises taxes on the middle class and produces no meaningful deficit reduction when gimmicks are removed and the full cost is accounted for."

Anything else?

Democrats dispute the JTC's initial analysis — thus arguing the Inflation Reduction Act does not increase taxes — by claiming the initial analysis does not take into consideration offsetting benefits.

"[I]t doesn’t include the benefits to middle-class families of making health insurance premiums and prescription drugs more affordable. The same goes for clean energy incentives for families," said Ashley Schapitl, a spokesperson for Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).