The House voted 221-210 to take back more than $70 billion, which is almost 90 percent of the new money for the IRS. This shows that Republicans don’t want the agency to grow and want tax enforcement issues to stay in the public eye.
Democrats will never let the bill pass in the Senate because they are so against it. But the debate over the bill gives the GOP a chance to bring up again what they think is one of the most unpopular parts of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.
IRS $80 Billion Additional Funds
That law gave the IRS $80 billion in new funding over 10 years to improve a wide range of agency functions, such as customer service, help for taxpayers, and criminal investigations.
With the first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans have made it clear that their top economic priority is to allow the wealthy and multi-billion dollar corporations to avoid paying taxes, while making life more difficult for middle-class families who pay their taxes, according to a statement from the Office of Management and Budget, which threatened a veto by President Joe Biden in the unlikely event that the bill reached his desk.
The declaration also cited a study published by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Monday, which concluded that the legislation would increase the deficit by $114,4 billion by reducing tax collections.
The legislation, championed by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Nebraska), would rescind $45.6 billion for enhanced tax enforcement and $25.3 billion for agency operations support, which includes administrative activities, IT development, and telecommunications.
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Lawmakers Oppose Plan
Smith stated that Janet Yellen’s instructions to the Internal Revenue Service would result in nine out of ten new audits focusing on families earning less than $400,000 per year.
Biden has pledged that the new windfall will not affect taxpayers earning less than the threshold amount and that the new funds will be used to increase compliance among wealthy tax evaders.
Prospects for new GOP Ways and Means seats, including Reps. Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Blake Moore of Utah, and Claudia Tenney of New York utilized the floor time to demonstrate their tax policy speaking prowess.
Former Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts) retorted that the funding would be used to make much-needed computer system upgrades at the agency. Neal quipped, “Or should we have an IRS that operates like Southwest Airlines did last week, much to the dismay of the American family?”
In addition, the bill would eliminate funding for the IRS to investigate the development of a free, agency-run e-filing system, as well as $50 million provided to the Treasury Department to implement the Democrats’ climate and health bills, among others.
It leaves untouched $3.2 billion for the improvement of taxpayer services and $4.8 billion for the development of technology to improve phone lines for customer service. Long call-waiting periods
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