When the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law earlier this month by President Biden, the large investment in renewable energy and provisions to cut prescription prices were what garnered the majority of the attention from the media.
This was because these were the aspects of the bill that would have the greatest impact on reducing inflation.
However, the law also includes a large boost in funding for the Internal Revenue Service (the agency that collects taxes for the nation and is regularly criticized for its procedures). This provision was not included in the original version of the bill.
The United States Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, has stated that the investment presents a “monumental opportunity” to reform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The IRS has been hampered in recent years by budget cuts, manpower shortages, antiquated technology, and large paperwork backlogs. Yellen has stated that the investment presents a “monumental opportunity” to reform the IRS.
As a direct result of a law that was just enacted, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is going to be granted an additional $80 billion in funding over the next ten years.
The agency has claimed that it aims to utilize this money to improve its capacity to collect back taxes from rich Americans, modernize its processes, and increase the number of personnel who are dedicated to delivering customer service.
The Republican Party and members of the media on the right have been quite loud in their opposition to the proposed increase in financing.
A good many of these people have propagated the untrue claim that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will use the money to hire an additional 87,000 auditors with the intention of “going after” normal taxpayers.
However, the agency asserts that the amount pertains to workers in all areas and not only enforcement professionals and that more than half of those appointments would be employed to replace current staff members who are anticipated to retire shortly.
It would indicate that the origin of that number was a study that was produced by the Treasury Department the year before its publication.
According to the findings of the analysis, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could employ more staff members over the following decade if it received a sufficient budget.
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Some conservatives have also made the false claim that the money will be used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to create what Fox News host Brian Kilmeade referred to as a “new army” of agents armed with assault weapons to “hunt down and kill middle-class taxpayers that don’t pay enough.”
This claim is false. This is a fallacy that has been perpetuated by individuals who hold conservative political views.
However, these agents make up a relatively insignificant portion of the agency’s total workforce and are typically only deployed in the most serious of criminal investigations.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does have a small number of special agents on staff who are authorized to carry concealed firearms. These agents can be found in the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.
