A majority of Americans support the GOP push to block President Joe Biden from bringing in 87,000 new IRS agents, according to a new poll from the Trafalgar Group.
A full 60% of voters surveyed want Congress to step in and reverse the move. Democrats rammed through $80 billion in new IRS funding with last year’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
Far from reducing inflation, the measure among many other things pumped the world’s largest tax collection agency with funding and manpower to go after average Americans.
Last week House Republicans voted to withdraw almost $71 billion in funding for expanding the IRS. The Democratic effort, when completed, would more than double its current size and make the agency larger than the Pentagon, State Department, FBI, and Border Patrol combined.
Americans desperately need border security.
We don’t need 87,000 new IRS agents to monitor Venmo transactions.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 5, 2023
Polling results showed 84% of Republicans opposed beefing up the IRS, and even a quarter of Democrats agreed with the vast majority of the GOP.
Of course, the White House could hardly push the plan to expand the agency as a giant step towards even more financial scrutiny on the poorest Americans. That, however, will be the result.
Contrary to the stated objective to hold millionaires and billionaires accountable, records show the exact opposite is occurring.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University closely examined 2022 audits and revealed a startling trend
The IRS now leans heavily on audits consisting of automatically produced letters mailed to taxpayers. Some 85% of its examinations of taxpayers begin with these letters requesting further information and documentation related to certain items of interest.
In 2022, Americans in the lowest tax bracket were targeted at a rate of 12.7 per 1,000. By contrast, occupants of the country’s highest tax bracket faced audits at a rate of only 2.3 per 1,000.
The numbers break down to prove that lower-income Americans have an almost 500% greater likelihood of being audited by the IRS than those in the highest wage category. Those least capable of defending themselves are targeted exponentially more than those who can afford legal defense.
The IRS laid out several excuses for the pronounced disparity, but the figures remain a testament to the power of a weaponized federal agency. Denying Biden’s attempt to double its size is a noble goal for congressional Republicans and one that will greatly benefit average Americans.
