Sunday, October 9, 2022

McCarthy’s SuperPAC Continues Lying to Rhode Islanders

Don't believe the lies about Fung's tax record

Washington DC Republicans continue lying to Rhode Island voters in their latest ad, failing to recognize that General Treasurer Seth Magaziner has pledged to oppose any tax increase for families making less than $400,000 a year while GOP candidate Allan Fung hiked taxes ten times during tenure in Cranston, costing the average Cranston taxpayer $1,300 per year in increased taxes.  

“Allan Fung and National Republicans are sticking to the MAGA playbook, lying to voters with no regard for the truth,” said Communications Director Patricia Socarras. 


“Allan Fung is the only candidate in this race with a long and painful record of raising taxes. As voters learn more about the disastrous Republican agenda– cutting Social Security and Medicare, passing a national abortion ban, and paving the way for the return of Donald Trump– Rhode Islanders will call Fung’s bluff and reject him in November.”

 

As part of their national reelection strategy, House Republicans have falsely claimed the Inflation Reduction Act raises taxes on families making less than $75,000, a claim that has been debunked by fact-checkers, and even by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnel. [See background below]

“As former Treasury Secretaries of both Democratic and Republican Administrations, we support the Inflation Reduction Act which is financed by prudent tax policy that will collect more from top-earners and large corporations. Taxes due or paid will not increase for any family making less than $400,000/year. And the extra taxes levied on corporations do not reflect increases in the corporate tax rate, but rather the reclaiming of revenue lost to tax avoidance and provisions benefitting the most affluent.” [Department of the Treasury August 3, 2022]

“In recent days, critics of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have used a misleading and incomplete analysis to claim that the breakthrough legislation would be a “tax increase on everyone.” … However, this simply is not true. The IRA closes tax loopholes exploited by large corporations that currently pay little or no tax and by wealthy investment fund managers. It also cracks down on tax dodging, especially by the wealthy, which currently accounts for the largest share of unpaid taxes. Contrary to critics’ claims, the IRA does not raise taxes on individuals earning less than $400,000 or on any but the largest and most profitable corporations.” [Center for American Progress, August 2, 22]

 

The Joint Committee on Taxation analysis Republicans cite when making their claims does not incorporate the tax savings that low and middle-income people will be getting from the IRA extending the tax credit on health insurance premiums. 

 

Treasurer Magaziner supports the Inflation Reduction Acct, which does not raise taxes on families making less than $400,00 per year, because the Inflation Reduction Act lowers costs for working people by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug companies for the first time, caps out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000, caps the price of insulin, expands American energy production, and reduces the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. 


The wildly popular Inflation Reduction Act passed without a single Republican vote. Fung also vowed not to support the Act, as a former insurance industry lobbyist who sided with the drug and insurance companies over working Rhode Islanders. 

 

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Contact:

Patricia Socarras, Director of Communications and External Affairs

401.236.4966 | patricia@sethmagaziner.com 

 

Background on Inflation Reduction Act impact on Taxes and Inflation: 

Fung Tax Increase Background: 

 

  • 2003: Councilman Fung voted in favor of a supplemental property tax increase and a property tax increase in the FY 2004 budget. [Cranston City Council, Minutes, 1/31/03] and [Cranston City Council, Minutes, 5/14/03]
  • 2004: Councilman Fung voted for an increase in property tax in FY 2005 budget. [Cranston City Council, Minutes, 5/6/04]
  • 2009: Mayor Fung’s proposed budget included a property tax increase for FY 2010. [The Providence Journal, 4/1/09]
  • 2010: Mayor Fung proposed a supplemental car tax and a FY 2011 budget with property tax increase. [The Providence Journal, 4/2/10] and [Providence Journal, 6/16/10]
  • 2011: Mayor Fung’s proposed FY 2012 budget included a property tax increase. [The Providence Journal, 4/1/11]
  • 2015: Mayor Fung’s proposed FY 2016 budget included a property tax increase. [Cranston Patch, 4/1/15]
  • 2017: Mayor Fung’s proposed FY 2018 budget included a property tax increase. [Cranston Herald, 5/5/17]
  • 2019: Property Tax Rates Increased 2.4% in Budget Fung Allowed. [Providence Journal, 5/19/19]
  • 2019: Fung Had Proposed 2% Property Tax Increase in Own Budget.  [Providence Journal, 4/2/19]
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