A bill that would try to abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and eliminate federal income tax was reintroduced on Tuesday by Georgia Republican Rep. Buddy Carter.
A vote on the bill, labeled the Fair Tax Act, was part of a deal that was negotiated between the House Freedom Caucus and Speaker Kevin McCarthy during his quest for the speakership.
The Act “will eliminate the need for the IRS by simplifying our tax code with provisions that work for the American people,” Carter said on Twitter.
The current federal income tax scheme would be replaced with a single nationwide consumption tax. The Office of Management and Budget criticized the bill and said it would only benefit certain taxpayers.
“With their first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.
The vote comes after House Republicans passed a bill Monday evening that would prevent plans to fund 87,000 new IRS agents, originally included in the Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats passed last year.
A date has not been set for the vote on the Fair Tax Act. However, both bills are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s second-in-command has quietly stepped down amid reporting by The Associated Press that he once consulted for a pharmaceutical distributor sanctioned for a deluge of suspicious painkiller shipments and did similar work for the drugmaker that became the face of the opioid epidemic: Purdue Pharma.
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new guidelines for corporate mergers, took steps to disclose the junk fees charged by landlords and launched a crackdown on price-gouging in the food industry.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a secret trip to China to meet with leaders.
Travis King, a private 2nd Class U.S. soldier, was identified as the individual that crossed the North and South Korean border earlier this week.
Several civil rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his new immigration laws.
A judge in Iowa temporarily blocked the state's six-week abortion ban.
A U.S. national is being held in North Korea after crossing its closely-guarded border with South Korea.
The Biden administration and major consumer technology players on Tuesday launched an effort to put a nationwide cybersecurity certification and labeling program in place to help consumers choose smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking.
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department's investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that he could soon be indicted by federal prosecutors.
A judge in Iowa has temporarily blocked the state's new six-week abortion ban from taking effect.
