This has been an on going battle…..
Republicans have contiuned to make sure the IRS collects more money from middle class Americans….
(The 2017 Trump/Republican Tax Act did NOT help middle class Americans and it sidestepeped the Filibuster in the US Senate to boot))
Not the rich and big business….
President Biden and Democrats have mannaged to get more money for the Internal Revenue Service to crack down on those 1% of Americans and corprations that make TONS of money, but are able to duck paying much, if any money to the government in taxes….
Trump one year made MILLIONS and got a $75 Million tax refund…Some Big companies pay no taxes on their millions in profits…..
What are Republicans saying about these IRS agents?
It varies. On social media, some are saying the IRS agents will be armed. Others, like Washington GOP Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley, are capitalizing on the sheer size of the number. It’s “insane that Joe Biden and Patty Murray are sending a stadium full or IRS agents to force families making less than $75,000 to pay for someone else’s law degree,” she says in one ad.
North Carolina Senate candidate Ted Budd complains in another ad that Mr. Biden has “spent recklessly,” and “now he wants 87,000 more IRS agents to cover his tab.” Meanwhile, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is vowing to repeal the 87,000 agents in Republicans’ first bill if they win the majority.
Are the claims true?
No, the claims are outdated and misleading. While the IRS will be getting $80 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August, the IRS has not yet released a plan for the money. In August, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a memo to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig directing the agency to deliver a plan within six months on how the funding will be used over the next decade. Yellen also had another directive for the agency regarding new personnel and which Americans shouldn’t see more audits.
“Any additional resources—including any new personnel or auditors that are hired—shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels,” she wrote in a letter. In a separate letter to the Senate, Rettig, a Trump appointee, also stated the resources are “absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans.”
The IRS proposal for the money is due in February.
What will those hired by the IRS do?
Filling vacant positions, mostly. The IRS is on the verge of losing more than 50,000 employees who are set to retire over the next five years.
“The majority of new employees will replace the standard level of staff departures over the next few years,” said an Treasury official, adding that new staff will be hired to “to improve taxpayer services and experienced auditors who can take on corporate and high-end tax evaders, without increasing audit rates relative to historical norms for people earning under $400,000 each year.”
On the enforcement side, the IRS has lost 40% of the complex revenue agents needed to go after high-end tax evaders over the past decade. The agency is working with the same number of auditors dealing with complex work as it had in World War II…..