Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the wealthiest lawmaker in the Senate, recently proposed an 11-point plan to "rescue America."
Central to that plan is his proposal that all Americans pay some level of income tax. That would mean U.S. households that currently are not required to pay income tax would have to send something more to the government in addition to the taxes they already pay for Social Security and Medicare, as well as local sales and property taxes.
After he was hit with considerable criticism -- including from within his own party --- Scott attempted to insist that he would never support a tax increase. CNN fact checker Daniel Dale isn't buying it.
"This is almost an embarrassingly easy fact check," Dale said on Friday. "Senator Scott proposed raising taxes and the proof is in his own plan. This is not complicated -- a two-sentence item. l'll read it: all Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax."
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But as Dale pointed out, the approximately 40% of American households -- about 75 million -- pay no federal income tax "for a variety of reasons."
"Some of them are disabled, some of them are retired," Dale explained. "Some of them are working employed people who don't make enough to hit the minimum threshold to even have to file a tax return."
Requiring them to cut a check to the Internal Revenue Service, he argued, would, in fact, be a tax increase.
President Joe Biden has called out Scott for his proposal to raise taxes on Americans least able to afford it. Instead of taxing the poor, Biden proposed instituting a minimum tax on billionaires and corporations, noting that "55% of the largest corporations paid net-zero in federal taxes on $40 million in profits."
Almost immediately after Scott revealed his plan it was shot down by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“If we’re fortunate enough to have the majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader. I’ll decide, in consultation with my members, what to put on the floor,” McConnell said. “Let me tell you what will not be a part of our agenda: We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years. That will not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda."
You can watch the entire Daniel Dale fact check below.
Rick Scott wants to raise taxes on millions of Americans -- and it's 'embarrassingly easy' to provewww.youtube.com
