Sen. Rick Scott defends tax plan as critics say it’ll raise taxes on retirees, low-income families

ORLANDO, Fla. — “Absolutely not.”

That was the answer Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) gave on Saturday in Orlando when asked if his 11-point plan included an income tax hike for groups that traditionally do not pay income taxes: low-income families, many retirees, and many veterans.

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“I’m trying to protect the working class; they are paying income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes and they’re getting taxed to death,” Scott said.

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Scott has been answering questions about his plan for the last week following the release of his “11 Point Plan to Rescue America”. Part of his proposal says “all Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax.”

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According to the Tax Policy Center, roughly half of all Americans do not pay income tax, a number that grew during the pandemic when many people were unemployed, but is expected to fall as people return to work, and with many of the individual tax cuts passed in 2017 starting to expire in 2023.

Even still many low-income families do not pay taxes, in addition many retirees and veterans also do not pay income taxes. It’s unclear how Scott’s plan would impact these groups and as a result Democrats have used the ambiguity to go after Republicans, with Congresswoman Val Demings’ campaign for senate releasing a digital ad suggesting Sen Marco Rubio supports the plan.

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“I have not seen the plan,” Rubio said when asked about it on Friday. “I’ve read about it, but I think it’s good that people offer ideas. I’m not sure I agree with all of them. I don’t know all of the details of the plan.”

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