President Biden reportedly agrees with Senator Joe Manchin that the plan put forth by Democrats to have the IRS track every bank account with more than $600 in transactions is “screwed up.” Manchin claims that Biden agreed when the senator used those words and that this indicates that the White House will not continue to push for this policy, which Manchin has strongly opposed.
Biden adjusts IRS plan
The IRS proposal was intended to be a fundraising method for the massive spending bill constructed by Democrats.
If the IRS could monitor practically every bank account in the country then it could ensure that everyone was paying their taxes.
Banks, Republicans, and normal Americans have seen this as an incredible breach of privacy which would put practically every account in the country in the hands of the federal government.
Even Democrats have wavered in their support for the proposal amidst the general backlash. Manchin has been one of the most prominent critics in the party.
In response the proposal has been amended to apply to accounts with over $10,000 in transactions and wage payments will not be counted as transactions.
Manchin and other critics still think this reworked proposal is too extreme but Biden and other leading Democrats are apparently determined to keep it alive in some form.
Manchin still refuses to support
Democrats have argued that their plan is to pay for their spending programme by targeting wealthy individuals who aren’t paying their fair share in taxes.
The IRS transaction tracking proposal says otherwise. The government is trying to secure the ability to monitor the accounts of average Americans, not just billionaires.
This does not imply an interest in merely making sure that the super rich are paying their taxes, as proponents in Congress have claimed.
If the IRS wants to have access to the bank accounts of normal Americans it can only mean that the government sees an opportunity to squeeze some extra taxes out of them at some point in the future.
Biden might agree that it is “screwed up” but he certainly isn’t doing anything to put a stop to it at the moment.
Manchin has already confirmed that there is no adjustment his fellow Democrats could make to the plan which would convince him to abandon his opposition.
