Tuesday, November 26

Infrastructure Plan: senators abolish the section on taxes for the richest


Plan de Infraestructura: senadores suprimen el apartado de impuestos a los más ricos
After several months of dialogue, everything indicates that next Wednesday the Infrastructure Plan will be voted on and approved.

Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP / Getty Images

The tax hike for the richest will not be part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Plan as originally projected in order to provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the necessary mechanisms to increase tax collection, this was announced by Republican Senator Rob Portman in a television interview with CNN.

With this resolution one of the main objectives of the Biden administration falls, which was to finance the plan through the collection of taxes from the payment of the richest Americans. The Republican bench has stopped this possibility, regardless of the agreement previously agreed with the Democrats where yes there was a tax increase.

Despite the fact that the intention to make the increase in taxes on those who have more a reality has been halted in the Infrastructure Plan, that does not mean that this cannot be stopped in its entirety, because Rob Portman recognized that this issue can be a reality if the Democrats use the conciliation budget appealing to have a simple majority of legislators.

The decision to exclude the IRS provision from the infrastructure bill representing $ 1.2 trillion dollars comes as senators and the White House are looking to negotiate the final details of the bill before the procedural vote takes place, which is scheduled for Wednesday of next week.

In the interview, Portman stated that his parliamentary group refused to approve the tax hike after they learned that Democrats were planning to add a larger IRS compliance proposal to what was agreed, which according to the Republican, this should not be contemplated in the bipartisan bill.

Portman assured that if the Democrats look for a greater collection of taxes, this must be through a budget reconciliation. Therefore, the pro-government legislators hope to approve the law without the support of the opponents under rules that allow them to proceed with their simple majority, which would require them to use the vote of tiebreaker of Vice President Kamala Harris .

Regardless of the topic related to the possible powers given to the IRS to guarantee a higher tax collection and thus reduce the tax gap that exists, Wednesday’s vote to shed light on the Infrastructure Plan would require 60 votes in the Senate, which means that he would need the support of at least 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats support him.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer exposed to the media, this Sunday, that despite the differences that exist with the Republicans, there is no reason to think that the issue is not finalized. in the middle of the week, so the Infrastructure Plan will be a reality based on the parliamentary agreements that have been given.

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