Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, granted the agency $80 billion to use over the following decade. The agency has used the funding to recover unpaid taxes from ultrawealthy individuals and corporations, but the money might not last for long.
Massive Haul
On Jan 12, the IRS announced that it had recovered over $482 million since mid-2022 from 1,600 millionaires who had avoided paying all of their taxes. Those unpaid tax bills were each over $250,000.
Good Progress
More than $300 million of that haul was recovered in the last few months. In late October, the agency had recouped $160 million.
Paying their Fair Share
“The IRS continues to increase scrutiny on high-income taxpayers,” Commissioner Danny Werfel stated, “as we work to reverse the historic low audit rates and limited focus that the wealthiest individuals and organizations faced in [previous] years.”
Benefitting Everyone
The extra funds provided by Biden have also resulted in better customer services for everyone. In 2023, average wait times for people calling the IRS fell almost sevenfold, from 27 minutes in 2022 to four minutes.
From Worst to Good
The 2022 tax season was the worst on record regarding customer service. The IRS specifically credited the Inflation Reduction Act for its ability to recover from those record lows.
Huge Job
According to Forbes, in 2023, IRS employees answered over 2 million calls and helped over 100,000 people in person. Far more forms were digitized than the year prior, too.
More Work to be Done
“We’re trying to improve services dramatically,” the deputy secretary of the Treasury said in April after the reported improvements in customer service were published. However, the then-commissioner of the IRS argued there needed to be “a lot more time” spent on compliance strategies relating to technology.
Upward Trend
“The additional resources the IRS has received [are] making a difference,” the current commissioner stressed in January. As well as ultra-rich individuals, the agency is scrutinizing a variety of dodgy tax structures that allow people and companies to avoid reporting income and paying taxes.
The Naughty List
The IRS announced in late 2023 that it was investigating 180 foreign subsidies, more than 70 corporate partnerships, and over 60 corporate taxpayers. Many of these groups are worth tens of billions of dollars.
Under Attack
Republicans have repeatedly attacked the increased IRS funding, falsely claiming that it will be used to go after regular taxpayers, according to the Huffington Post. In 2023, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy managed to reduce the funding by $20 billion.
Continued Cuts
Current House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for further cuts to the agency’s funding. These cuts could be included in a pending debt ceiling bill.
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