Fung Sides with McCarthy, Helping Billionaires Cheat Their Way Out of Paying Taxes

PRESS RELEASE >>

WARWICK, RI – Today the Magaziner for Congress campaign released the following statement on Kevin McCarthy’s pledge to repeal the expansion of the Internal Revenue Service which would allow the IRS to uncover and prosecute wealthy tax cheats.  The expansion was part of the Inflation Reduction Act.  Allan Fung, who is endorsed by right- wing extremist Kevin McCarthy, said he would vote against the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a provision to ensure the top one percent of wealthy Americans pay their fair share in annual taxes:

“Once again, Allan Fung is protecting Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump and the wealthiest Americans that want to continue to cheat their way out of paying their fair share,” said Communications Director Patricia Socarras. “It is morally wrong that millionaires and billionaires can shoot rockets into space while paying less in taxes than Rhode Islanders who are struggling to afford groceries and gas. We cannot afford to send Allan Fung to Congress to rubber stamp McCarthy’s elitist agenda.”

The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August included a provision to strengthen tax enforcement on the wealthiest Americans, exempting additional audits of families making less than $400,000 a year. This comes as the U.S. Treasury Department estimated the cost of tax evasion among the top 1 percent of taxpayers exceeds $160 billion annually, part of a ‘tax gap’ between taxes owed and those collected estimated at more than $7 trillion over a decade. The IRS has been explicitly directed not to use increased funding for additional audits of families making less than $400,000 a year.

The Inflation Reduction Act that Fung vowed to vote against would also help Rhode Islanders make ends meet by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time, capping out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for drugs, protecting Affordable Care Act subsidies, and imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on corporate profits for businesses that earn at least $1 billion a year.

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