The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is facing backlash after proposing a new reporting program to monitor the tips received by service workers. This move is being seen as a violation of President Biden’s promise that new funding provided to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act would not be used to target Americans making under $400,000 per year.
The program is in stark contrast to what Biden said during his State of the Union speech.
When Biden says the IRS is going after millionaires and billionaires, apparently he means the ones that are waitresses living off of tips. https://t.co/jy4HwwDwt9
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) February 9, 2023
The proposed program would track point-of-sale data provided by employers in order to monitor tip income for service workers. This group is often paid less than minimum wage and relies heavily on gratuity from customers. Conservatives argue that this new development is a breach of the president’s promise and an attack on middle-class Americans.
“The ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’ everyone. Sending the super-sized IRS after waitress tips to pay for electric Bentleys for the wealthy,” said Matt Whitlock, a GOP communications veteran.
“We are going after ‘billionaires’ is a trick they use to get you to give up your principles so they can come after you. The govt isn’t looking to expand IRS staff and programs because of ‘billionaires’. They aren’t going after the wealthy; they are creating barriers for you,” added Carol Roth, a commentator.
Biden said he was going after billionaires instead he’s going after the middle class and people trying to survive. People are trying to heat their homes and pay for eggs but the president decides to send the dogs after them.
The IRS has yet to respond to the criticism, but this latest breach of trust is only adding to the growing list of controversies surrounding the Biden administration. This includes the Chinese spy balloon infiltration into the United States, the southern border crisis, depleting military reserves, depleting oil reserves and selling them to China, and various other scandals.
