'Preposterous': Lindsey Graham undercut on CNN after claim the IRS will target 'waitresses and Uber drivers'
During a joint appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) saw his fearmongering about an army of IRS agents targeting service workers slapped aside by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as "preposterous."
Appearing with host Dana Bash, ostensibly to talk about policies they can agree upon, the two senators were asked about the massive bill dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that was being debated on the Senate floor during their appearance, they parted ways about the bill's potential.
With Graham saying he wouldn't vote for it no matter how many changes are made, he then attacked a proposal to add more IRS agents to go after tax cheats.
"Hiring 86,000 more IRS agents, if that makes you feel better, you missed a lot," the South Carolina Republican suggested. "They're coming after waitresses and Uber drivers and everybody else to collect more taxes. So if you think growing the IRS is good for you, you're wrong."
"Do you want to respond or move on?" host Bash asked Blumenthal.
"I think the IRS is going to target the highest income Americans," Blumenthal said with a smile. "As the saying goes, that's where the money is, that's where they're going to look to collect."
"The idea there's going to be this army of IRS agents descending on the average Americans is preposterous," He scoffed. "Tax fairness is what we need. For the biggest corporations in this country to pay no taxes, for them to do stock buybacks that benefit the shareholders? For example in the case of oil companies, they are making three to four times they did last year. What are they doing with those excess windfall profits? Lowering gasoline prices? No, they are doing stock buybacks and they ought to pay a tax on it."
Watch below:
CNN 08 07 2022 09 03 57 youtu.be