It is said, that you should never believe someone who has his hand on his heart while promising you something. Therefore, I will never trust a Democrat who makes promises about a federal agency or program.
Consider Medicare: when it started in 1966, the cost was $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee predicted a $12 billion cost by 1990. However, it ballooned to $107 billion by then and now hovers around a trillion dollars for the government.
Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, as well as the Republicans, assured Americans that 80 billion dollars would be used to enhance the IRS’s ability to collect taxes. However, everyone with half a brain knew that this was a lie.
According to the audit by the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration, President Biden’s plans for hiring new tax collectors have failed and the agents already on the ground are focusing their efforts on the middle class.
According to the Wall Street Journal, 63% of audits performed last summer focused on taxpayers who earned less than $200,000. A small percentage of audits concentrated on high-earning taxpayers and 80% of them covered those earning under $1,000,000.
Willie Sutton allegedly shrugged his shoulders when asked why he robbed banks. “That’s where the money is.” “The IRS audits rich taxpayers but not those who are well-off, as they can’t afford the army of tax attorneys that super-rich people have.”
This is a quick reminder of assurances that we received from both the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress.
The resources allocated to auditing small businesses and middle-income Americans are not meant to increase the audit scrutiny of these groups. In August 2022, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig wrote to senators that the audit rate for households earning less than $400,000 would not increase compared to the previous year.
Janet Yellen was even more adamant in her stance. She wrote to Rettig, “Contrary to the misinformation spread by opponents to the legislation, audits won’t increase for small businesses or households earning less than $400,000 per year. ”
Reason.com:
The report is not bad, but it’s not great either. The IRS had a goal of hiring 3,700 new agents in the first year following the increase in funding. However, only 34 were hired during the first six months.
A previous report stated, “Staffing of revenue agents decreased by 8 percent, or more than 650 employees, between the end of fiscal 2019 and March 2023.” The problem is not just with hiring. Just 33 percent of the milestones outlined for fiscal year 2020 in the agency’s strategic operating plan have been achieved. It is hard to achieve this given that the year is over.
Most of us know better and don’t fall for it.
