If the parliamentarian didn’t let minimum wage in, I not sure how she will let immigration in, but who knows, it’s all political.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/immigration-reform-budget-reconciliation/index.html

A group of economists urged congressional leadership to add a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants to a budget reconciliation bill, arguing that it would bolster the US economy, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

The more than 50 economists, including former President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser Jason Furman, cited research and studies underscoring their analysis that immigration revisions would increase wages and productivity across the US economy, including creating jobs and lifting families out of poverty.

The letter adds to the growing chorus of immigrant advocates and Democratic lawmakers who want to prove that including immigration revisions in any budget reconciliation legislation would have budgetary effects and as a result should be included in the final version of the bill.

It’s a massive gamble for a party that has been promising to deliver on immigration restructuring for more than a decade, but key advocates argue that it is the last hope — potentially in this Congress — for anything to pass.

“A pathway to citizenship is a key component of a just, equitable, and robust recovery; and, as aforementioned, granting a pathway to citizenship for millions of aspiring Americans will bring expansive economic benefits to communities across the country –while having a significant impact on the federal budget — not only for the individuals directly affected, but for the larger systems — families, and the workforce — that they comprise,” the letter reads.

By passing an immigration measure using budget reconciliation, Democrats can approve it using a simple majority in the Senate, with all 50 Democratic senators voting in favor of it and Vice President Kamala Harris likely being the tie-breaking vote.

But first, Democrats need to get the approval of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who is responsible for advising the chamber on how its rules, protocols and precedents operate.

MacDonough could reject the immigration provisions if she finds they don’t have a real impact on the country’s overall budget.

Under the rules of reconciliation, included provisions must either raise revenue or add to the deficit, and that impact cannot be merely “incidental.” It’s an untested question whether immigration revisions will meet those criteria.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/09/09/tax-these-moochers-top-1-dodge-163-billion-taxes-each-year

A Treasury Department report released Wednesday estimates that the richest 1% of Americans are responsible for more than $160 billion in unpaid taxes per year, a finding that comes as Democratic lawmakers are working to bolster IRS enforcement capacity in their emerging reconciliation package.

Authored by Natasha Sarin, the deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department, the new report argues that “today’s tax code contains two sets of rules: one for regular wage and salary workers who report virtually all the income they earn; and another for wealthy taxpayers, who are often able to avoid a large share of the taxes they owe.”

Each year, according to the Treasury analysis, the top 1% of earners in the U.S. don’t pay $163 billion in taxes they owe by law. The bottom 10% of earners, by contrast, account for less than $3 billion in unpaid taxes annually.

Persistent tax dodging by the wealthiest people in the country has resulted in a staggering $7 trillion “tax gap”—the difference between taxes owed and taxes the federal government actually collects. Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the tax gap “really shocking” and said the administration is looking to take “meaningful steps” to close it.

“The sheer magnitude of lost revenue is striking: it is equal to 3% of GDP, or all the income taxes paid by the lowest earning 90% of taxpayers,” Sarin writes. “The United States collects less tax revenue as a percentage of GDP than at most points in recent history, in part because owed but uncollected taxes are so significant.”

The Treasury report notes that unlike ordinary taxpayers, the wealthiest Americans “have the ability to tap into the services of accountants and tax preparers who help shield them from bearing their true income tax liability” using a range of complex avoidance tactics. Because congressional Republicans have starved the IRS of crucial funding in recent years, the agency is ill-prepared to crack down on rich tax cheats.

“Currently, an understaffed IRS, with outdated technology, is unable to collect 15% of taxes that are owed, and a lack of resources means that audit rates have fallen across the board, but they’ve decreased more in the last decade for high earners than for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients,” Sarin observes. “For the IRS to appropriately enforce the tax laws against high earners and large corporations, it needs funding to hire and train revenue agents who can decipher their thousands of pages of sophisticated tax filings.”

The agency “also needs access to information about opaque income streams—like proprietorship and partnership income—that accrue disproportionately to high-earners,” Sarin adds.

The Biden administration has proposed investing an additional $80 billion in the IRS over the next decade to update the agency’s technology, hire more enforcement staff, implement new reporting requirements, and ramp up audits of the rich and large corporations. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the administration’s plan would raise $200 billion in new revenue over a ten-year period.

Predictably, Republicans have vocally opposed increasing the IRS budget, as have right-wing political organizations bankrolled by ultra-wealthy Americans.

Pointing to the Treasury Department’s new report, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) tweeted Wednesday that the rich “spend money convincing the public that a single mother working three jobs advocating for free child care is the problem while they take and threaten our systems by cheating and benefiting from unchecked power.”

“I say tax these moochers,” Tlaib wrote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Budget Committee, echoed that message.

“At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we can no longer tolerate a rigged tax system that allows the top 1% to avoid $163 billion in taxes that they owe,” Sanders said. “Yes, we will demand that the 1% pays its fair share and we will use that revenue to invest in working families.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/571421-democratic-leaders-betting-manchin-will-back-down-in-spending-fight

Democrats are racing ahead with a $3.5 trillion spending package that would boost funding for social programs and raise taxes despite rumblings from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that he might not support legislation with that price tag.

Democratic leaders are betting they can pressure Manchin to back down on his push for spending that’s closer to $1.5 trillion or $2 trillion.

In doing so, they’re essentially daring Manchin and other moderates like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to vote against the eventual budget reconciliation package, knowing that the base would erupt in anger over any Democratic lawmakers who buck the party on such a high-profile vote.

Senate and House committees are scrambling to reach consensus on sections of the so-called human infrastructure bill under their jurisdictions by Friday, and Democratic staff working on the legislation haven’t received any indication that it will be pared back to appease Manchin.

Progressive activists warn that if the bill falls well below the $3.5 trillion target set by Senate and House leaders, there will be significant backlash.

A senior Democratic staffer said Senate and House committees, which face an end-of-week deadline to finish their elements of the reconciliation package by the end of this week, haven’t received any indication the final version will be pared down from the $3.5 trillion top-line spending goal laid out in the budget resolutions passed last month by each chamber.

“We’re working our asses off,” said the aide. “All we’re doing is working. We have been under orders to get to agreement with our House counterparts by close-of-business Friday.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has primary jurisdiction over the reconciliation process, says the spending target agreed to by congressional Democrats already represents a significant compromise with moderates.

“The overwhelming majority of members of the budget committee — and I think a good 80 or more percent of Democratic members of the Senate — supported a $6 trillion bill,” Sanders said of the spending number he originally floated ahead of the budget debate.

Sanders argues that $3.5 trillion is what needs to be spent on transforming the nation’s energy economy to address climate change and “dealing with the needs of the working class.”

“To my mind, this bill at $3.5 trillion is already a major, major compromise. And at the very least this bill should be $3.5 trillion,” he said Wednesday.

Democratic strategists warn of a backlash from the party’s base if the legislation — which includes substantial spending on long-term care for the elderly and disabled, an extension of the child tax credit, funding for expanded child care and significant investments in renewable energy sources — falls well below $3.5 trillion.

“The reaction from progressives, which is already being indicated, would be very bad. People would be very disappointed,” said Mike Lux, a Democratic strategist.