IRS Targeting Regular People With Audits

As part of Biden’s signature policy, The Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats sent $80 billion to beef up the IRS, doubling the size of the agency and hiring thousands of new agents to rifle through the finances of Americans. 

When Republicans tried to put in protections for middle-class and poor Americans, Democrats blocked the amendments, insisting that the IRS intended to only go after the rich.

It turns out to have been a complete lie, according to a new report on who is being audited by the tax agency.  

In Summer 2023, 63% of new audits were aimed at taxpayers earning less than $200,000, according to data compiled by The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. This group was dubbed the “IRS’s most wanted,”

A March report by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) highlighted the IRS’s sluggish performance. Despite having a strategic operating plan to revamp its auditing structure and provide “transformational change for taxpayers,” the IRS only completed 33% of its 58 milestones set for Fiscal Year 2023. The agency is uncertain about how or when it will complete the remaining milestones.

The IRS announced on Thursday its intention to significantly increase audit rates for large corporations, partnerships, and multimillionaires over the next three years. This initiative is part of a broader effort to boost collections through increased enforcement spending and hiring.

As part of its strategic operating plan for spending $60 billion in funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS aims to nearly triple the audit rate on corporations with assets exceeding $250 million. The target audit rate for these corporations is set to increase to 22.6% in the 2026 tax year, up from 8.8% in 2019.

In 2023, the IRS announced that rather than focusing entirely on “millionaires and billionaires,” it would be targeting the real culprits of tax crimes: waitresses. 

Fox News reported that the IRS is now planning to come after tips. “The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program would be a voluntary tip reporting system in which the IRS and service industry companies cooperate, according to the announcement Monday. As part of the proposal, the IRS will give the public until early May to provide feedback on the program before implementing it.

[Read More: Kamala Harris Steps On Another Rake]