COMMENTARY: GOP tax plan would be bad for Nevadans

Nevada’s hardworking families have gone through a difficult economic time over the past few years. From COVID disruption to high gasoline prices and rising costs for everything from groceries to rent, people across our state are making tough decisions just to make ends meet.

Lawmakers in Washington should be working to relieve this financial pressure facing Americans at the kitchen table and pass bills that bring down costs for Nevadans. Unfortunately, congressional Republicans are pushing a plan that would be devastating for Nevada families.

The proposal that House Republicans have introduced and plan to vote on would eliminate the federal income tax and impose a national sales tax, increasing the price of all goods and services by a whopping 30 percent. This would raise the already high prices Nevadans pay for food, medicine and all other goods and services. As a result, it will negatively impact the pocketbooks and hard-earned savings of people in Nevada and all across our country.

Here’s just one example of how this tax plan could impact you directly. Let’s say you spend $100 during a typical stop at the local grocery store. Under this GOP plan, those exact same items would now cost you $130 at checkout once the sales tax was added.

These price hikes driven by Republican tax increases on working families wouldn’t just be felt during the typical day-to-day purchases — they would also impact the bigger, long-term expenses that many families in Nevada have. Under this legislation, the average yearly grocery bill would rise by $3,500, the cost of buying a car would go up $10,000, and the already far too-high cost of buying a home would increase by $125,000. The added financial pressure brought on by the federal government imposing this new tax would absolutely break most families’ budgets.

The price increases brought on by this plan would also disproportionately impact retirees, seniors and those living on a fixed income by raising prices on the items they need most. Not to mention, this bill would also do away with the current funding mechanisms we use to pay for critical programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which Nevadans rely on in every corner of our state.

No matter how you look at it, this radical tax plan would be a bad deal for Nevada families.

Let me be clear: If this bill is approved by House Republicans and does come to the Senate, I will fight against it every step of the way. Congress should be working for the American people, not advancing policies that would increase costs and hurt families across our state.

Instead of pursuing this misguided new tax on hardworking Americans, Congress should focus on making the ultra-wealthy and billion-dollar corporations pay their fair share while also passing a tax cut that would actually benefit hardworking families and grow the middle class. By taking this common-sense step as an alternative, we can raise more revenues and lower our deficit while ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.

With so much turbulence in the economy and families all over our state getting squeezed by inflation and rising interest rates, our goal should be bipartisan tax reform that gives regular families more financial stability, more breathing room and more peace of mind.

Imposing a national sales tax of 30 percent would be the opposite of a solution; it would put the American Dream even further out of reach for more families. I will oppose this harmful proposal with everything I have on behalf of Nevadans.

Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, represents Nevada in the U.S. Senate.