Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has struck a deal with fellow Democrats on the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a Thursday night statement from the Arizona Democrat.
Sinema said she will move forward on the bill after Democratic Party leaders agreed to remove a tax increase on carried interest and a 15% minimum tax on wealthy corporations.
“We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy in the Senate’s budget reconciliation legislation,” Sinema said in the statement.
Sinema added that she was looking forward to working with Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner on “carried interest tax reforms” and “closing the most egregious loopholes that some abuse to avoid paying taxes.”
Schumer and Sinema announce deal to move the “Inflation Reduction Act” — which won’t reduce inflation but will raise taxes — forward to a vote pending the Parliamentarian’s review. pic.twitter.com/sCjzE9r0TJ
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) August 5, 2022
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the move, indicating his hope that the Senate would reach its required 50-vote threshold for the bill to pass. (RELATED: ‘An Awful Lot Of Them Haven’t Affected People’s Lives’: Chris Wallace Says Bills Being Passed Aren’t Helping Americans)
“I am pleased to report that we have reached an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act that I believe will receive the support of the entire Senate Democratic conference,” Schumer said in a statement. “The agreement preserves the major components of the Inflation Reduction Act, including reducing prescription drug costs, fighting climate change, closing tax loopholes exploited by big corporations and the wealthy, and reducing the deficit by $300 billion.”
With the Inflation Reduction Act, @SenateDems will:
✅Lower energy costs and invest in clean energy
✅Bring down prescription drug prices
✅Close tax loopholes and reduce the deficit
✅Ensure no small business or family making under $400,000 a year will see their taxes go up— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 4, 2022
President Joe Biden has publicly supported the bill, which aims to mitigate the effects of inflation on Americans by lowering the budget deficit and subsidizing health and energy costs.
“126 economists wrote that the Inflation Reduction Act would lower costs for families, set the stage for strong economic growth, and tackle the climate crisis,” Biden said Tuesday. “Send it to my desk.”
Biden has claimed the act will not increase taxes for those making less than $400,000. According to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), taxes would go up for every middle-income tax bracket, including those making under $10,000 and between $30,000-$40,000.
The act is sponsored by Schumer and Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
Manchin sparred with Fox News’s Harris Faulkner over the bill Tuesday, as Faulkner referred to the findings of the JCT.
“I’m saying Americans, $400,000 and below now, are going to be taxed,” Faulkner said.
“That’s wrong,” Manchin said. “That’s a lie, that is a pure, outright lie.”