A federal judge issued a permanent injunction on Thursday to block the ambiguous tax mandate in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole from the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that the tax mandate in the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)—which seems to tie the relief fund to the states’ authority to reduce tax—exceeds the Congress’s authority under the Spending Clause due to its ambiguity.
The Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued by the Treasury Department intended to clarify the tax mandate “does not cure that constitutional violation,” the judge stated.
“Accordingly, this Court GRANTS Ohio’s Motion for a Permanent Injunction (Doc. 38), and enjoins the [Treasury] Secretary from seeking to enforce the Tax Mandate, 42 U.S.C. § 802(c)(2)(A), against Ohio,” reads the ruling (pdf).
The judge also expressed concerns that the tax mandate has breached the separation-of-powers principles laid down by the framers.
The Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauded the ruling and criticized the Biden administration for overreaching.
“The Biden administration reached too far, seized too much, and got its hand slapped,” Yost said. “This is a monumental win for the preservation of the U.S. Constitution—the separation of powers is real, and it exists for a reason.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Treasury Department for comments.
A stipulation in the $1.9 trillion sweeping relief package has caused considerable disputes between red states and the Biden administration.
“A State or territory shall not use the funds provided under this section … to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in the net tax revenue of such State or territory resulting from a change in law, regulation, or administrative interpretation during the covered period that reduces any tax (by providing for a reduction in a rate, a rebate, a deduction, a credit, or otherwise) or delays the imposition of any tax or tax increase,” the bill reads.
BY ALLEN ZHONG
