President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden on Sunday, following Hunter’s guilty plea to tax fraud charges involving over $1.4 million in unpaid taxes. This move has sparked criticism as it comes after Biden’s push to reduce tax evasion, which included expanding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $78 billion to the IRS for enforcement measures targeting wealthy taxpayers and reducing the tax gap.
- Hunter Biden admitted to spending large sums on personal luxuries while failing to pay substantial tax bills, facing a potential 17-year prison sentence before the pardon.
- The median sentence for tax fraud in 2023 was 16 months, for amounts significantly smaller than Hunter’s unpaid taxes.
- Biden justified the pardon by alleging Hunter was “selectively prosecuted” because of his family ties.
- Despite earlier statements denying plans to pardon his son, Biden’s decision has raised questions about his administration’s commitment to enforcing tax laws equally.
Biden Pushed Crackdown On Those Avoiding Paying IRS Before Pardoning Tax-Evading Son
President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter’s tax fraud charges Sunday after attempting to crackdown on tax evasion throughout his term.
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act included $78 billion in funding to hire 87,000 employees for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as part of an effort to stop wealthy taxpayers from evading taxes and reduce the tax gap — the difference between what taxpayers pay and what they owe. Now, the lame duck commander-in-chief has pardoned his son Hunter Biden for committing some of the very same offenses the IRS expansion was meant to curb.
“The vast majority of [working] families do not contribute to the tax gap because they pay what they owe,” a February 2024 White House statement touting the IRS expansion stated. “It is long past time for the wealthiest households to do the same.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor and three felony tax charges in California in September after failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes and filing falsified tax paperwork, with prosecutors claiming he spent much of the money on an “extravagant lifestyle,” including “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties.” Prior to his father’s pardon, Hunter faced up to 17 years in prison, with the sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 16.
After months of claiming he would not do so, President Biden pardons his son Hunter. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/uZ1dBCmj3t
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) December 2, 2024
Despite his prior efforts to reduce tax evasion and his son’s guilty plea, Biden claimed Hunter was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” and was “singled out because he is [Biden’s] son.” Meanwhile, the average sentence for individuals sentenced for tax fraud in fiscal year 2023 was 16 months and involved a median total of $358,827 — a sum far smaller than the minimum $1.4 million that Hunter originally did not pay taxes on.
The Biden administration’s tax evasion crackdown also included a policy requiring Americans who collect payments of more than $600 via third-party platforms such as Venmo and Cash App report the funds to the IRS. The policy is specifically aimed at Americans running side hustles, small businesses and doing part-time work, not at reducing the tax gap for high earners.
Prior to issuing the pardon, Biden and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly promised the president would not issue a pardon for Hunter.
“I said I’d abide by the jury decision, and I will do that. And I will not pardon him,” Biden said during a joint press appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a jury in Delaware convicted Hunter Biden on three charges in connection with the purchase of a Colt .38-caliber revolver.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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