The GOP Plan For A 30% National Sales Tax Is Extremely Unpopular...But They're Still Pushing Forward

Extremist Kooks Like Traitor Greene, Biggs & Gaetz Have Now Signed On

Georgia neo-fascists are pushing the 30% sales tax-- pictured here are co-sponsors Loudermilk, Traitor Greene & Carter. Not pictured are co-sponsors Mike Collins & Andrew Clyde

Buddy Carter’s bill to impose a 30% national sales tax on everything is very real. It’s called H.R.25 and it was formally introduced by Carter on Jan. 9. The official House summary starts with this paragraph: “This bill imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2025, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property; for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes; and for state government functions.” Short version: the bill shifts more of the tax burden away from the wealthy and onto the backs of working families— exactly what the Republican Party is all about. The GOP calls that “encouraging a culture of savings,” meaning poor people should just spend less if they want to pay less in taxes.

There were 11 original co-sponsors, all extremists, most sitting in their safely gerrymandered red districts, utterly impervious to the concept of voter accountability:

• Andrew Clyde (R-GA)

• Jeff Duncan (R-SC)

• Kat Cammack (R-FL)

• Scott Perry (R-PA)

• Bob Good (R-VA)

• Thomas Massie (R-KY)

• Ralph Norman (R-SC)

• Bill Posey (R-FL)

• Gary Palmer (R-AL)

• Jim Banks (R-IN)

• Barry Loudermilk (R-GA)

They were quickly joined by 15 other far right extremists— although one, Blake Moore (R-UT), has since changed his mind and withdrawn his co-sponsorship. These are the 14 other cosponsors of the 30% sales tax: John Carter (R-TX), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Traitor Greene (R-GA), John Rutherford (R-FL), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Greg Steube (R-FL), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Mike Collins (R-GA), Barry Moore (R-AL), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Virginia Foxx (R-VA) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ). McCarthy, reading the polls and worried that this is getting out of hand, announced that he opposes Carter’s bill.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are moving to make sure the voters are aware of this extremely unpopular, regressive taxation proposal. Two vulnerable senators up for reelection next year, Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) have introduced a resolution formally opposing Carter’s proposal. Rosen: “At a time when hardworking families are experiencing high inflation and rising costs, Congressional Republicans are working to enact a tax plan that would dramatically raise the prices families pay for food, medicine, and all other goods and services. I urge the full Senate to join me in rejecting this new tax and, instead, work toward a tax cut for the middle class to give hardworking families more breathing room.” In an OpEd for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she wrote the GOP tax’s “price hikes driven by Republican tax increases on working families wouldn’t just be felt during the typical day-to-day purchases — they would also impact the bigger, long-term expenses that many families in Nevada have. Under this legislation, the average yearly grocery bill would rise by $3,500, the cost of buying a car would go up $10,000, and the already far too-high cost of buying a home would increase by $125,000. The added financial pressure brought on by the federal government imposing this new tax would absolutely break most families’ budgets. The price increases brought on by this plan would also disproportionately impact retirees, seniors and those living on a fixed income by raising prices on the items they need most. Not to mention, this bill would also do away with the current funding mechanisms we use to pay for critical programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which Nevadans rely on in every corner of our state. No matter how you look at it, this radical tax plan would be a bad deal for Nevada families.”

Instead of pursuing this misguided new tax on hardworking Americans, Congress should focus on making the ultra-wealthy and billion-dollar corporations pay their fair share while also passing a tax cut that would actually benefit hardworking families and grow the middle class. By taking this common-sense step as an alternative, we can raise more revenues and lower our deficit while ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.\With so much turbulence in the economy and families all over our state getting squeezed by inflation and rising interest rates, our goal should be bipartisan tax reform that gives regular families more financial stability, more breathing room and more peace of mind.

Imposing a national sales tax of 30 percent would be the opposite of a solution; it would put the American Dream even further out of reach for more families. I will oppose this harmful proposal with everything I have on behalf of Nevadans.

Their resolution also “opposes paying for any tax cuts with cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, or cuts to pay and benefits for our service members, veterans, or law enforcement.”