Conservative group misleads on Jacky Rosen’s Inflation Reduction Act vote and taxes

A conservative political group tied to Republican strategist and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove claims in a TV ad that U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., voted to hike taxes on families making less than $75,000 a year.

"Housing. It's a basic need for everyone. But many Nevadans struggle to afford it," a narrator says over images of Rosen. "Sen. Jacky Rosen voted to increase taxes on families making less than $75,000 a year, making it harder to afford rent or a mortgage."

The One Nation ad is part of a nearly $6 million ad buy against Rosen, who is running for reelection against Republican former Army Capt. Sam Brown in a race that could determine control of the Senate. One Nation has released three other ads since June, all saying Rosen voted to increase taxes on families making less than $75,000.

The ad’s text cited Rosen’s vote for the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. (We messaged to One Nation for comment through its website and the law office listed on its 2022 IRS form 990 and did not receive a reply.) 

Rosen campaign spokesperson Johanna Warshaw pointed to multiple fact-checks by PolitiFact and other news outlets that found similar claims misleading. The One Nation ad also misleads.

The Inflation Reduction Act was a broad spending bill that included new taxes but did not increase personal income taxes. It targeted tax increases on large corporations and wealthy money managers through a combination of new taxes and narrowing loopholes. For example, companies earning more than $1 billion in profit pay a new 15% corporate income tax.

Alex Durante, an economist at the Tax Foundation, a tax policy think tank, said corporations could pass increased tax burdens to consumers through higher prices and employees through lower wages and decreased benefits, but those changes could be offset by credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, such as for green energy and health care subsidies.

Republican-backed groups making claims similar to the One Nation ad have relied on a 2022 Joint Committee on Taxation Inflation Reduction Act analysis that showed an increased tax burden in every bracket. However, that analysis did not include other money-saving provisions in the law, including:

Featured Fact-check

Sam Brown

stated on August 9, 2024 in an X post

Jacky Rosen “said ending taxes on tips would ‘hurt working Nevada families.’”

• Tax credits for new and used electric vehicles.

• Tax credits for green energy home improvements.

• The extension of the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies through 2025.

• Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug pricing directly with drug companies.

Another independent analysis from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center showed that any tax change affecting the bottom 80% of taxpayers is extremely small.

A One Nation ad said Rosen "voted to increase taxes on families making less than $75,000 a year."

Rosen voted for the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which increased taxes on high-income earners and large corporations. The law did not increase taxes for people making less than $75,000 a year. 

Some of the higher tax costs for wealthier entities might be passed to consumers and employees, but those changes likely will be offset through the law’s credits and other money-saving provisions. Independent analyses have found that taxpayers in that income range are likely to see little change in what they pay in taxes.

We rate the claim Mostly False.