IRS Has ‘Not Yet Finalized’ How Middle Class Will Be Affected By $80 Billion Windfall

A report by the Internal Revenue Service released last week indicated that officials are devoting much of the agency’s recent funding windfall toward audits even as the degree to which the actions will impact everyday taxpayers remains uncertain.

President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act Recently, $80 billion was approved for the tax enforcement agency. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen It was previously stated that the funding will allow staff members to upgrade information tech systems. more easily assist Individuals and small business owners who wish to file their taxes. report The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration indicated however that they are still unsure how the funds’ actions will impact the audit rates of middle-income taxpayers.

Inflation Reduction Act allocated $45.6 billion to enforcement activities that will empower the agents. “determine and collect taxes owed.” To help taxpayers, $3.2 billion will go to “filing and account services, pre-filing assistance, and education,” The $4.8 billion will go towards business system modernization. “can be invested” In customer service technology.

The agency’s budget for enforcement activity will therefore increase 69% over the next decade, while the budget for taxpayer services will increase 9%. The rest of the funding will be used to pay rent, facilities, and telecommuting costs.

Yellen previously stated that new resources would not be used to raise audit rates for American households with less than $400,000 annually. “relative to historical levels.” She failed This is to clarify. “historical levels” Enforcement was much higher in the past decade: Audit rates for Americans with incomes between $25,000-$200,000 decreased 76% between 2010 & 2019, according to data From the Government Accountability Office.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration document also reveals that IRS officials are also included in the document. “have not yet finalized what constituted the $400,000 income level or what historic audit level will be used for its metrics,” Further, this indicates that such matters are “still being discussed between the IRS and the Treasury Department.” However, the agency maintains that there isn’t “an immediate risk” You could be charged with violating the agreement “employee attrition and hiring challenges will limit its ability to conduct more audits.”

The Daily Wire received a copy of the House Ways and Means Committee’s document. This analysis concluded that “when they have the numbers, they’ll perform the audits.”

“At a time when Americans are facing the double threat of sky-high inflation and an economy in recession, top bureaucrats at the IRS are huddling over how to spend their $80 billion windfall, and what technicalities they can use to justify auditing families and small businesses,” Jason Smith, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (R-MO), stated this in a statement that was provided to The Daily Wire. “President Biden and Secretary Yellen need to come clean with the American public about the true extent of their enforcement plans and exactly how many middle-class families will be swept up in their audit scheme. The American people are already dealing with 40-year high inflation; the last thing they need is a visit from the IRS.”