GOP Issues Warning as Democrat ‘Inflation Act’ Includes Hiring of 87,000 New IRS Agents

Republicans say a Democrat-backed bill worth $740 billion includes funding to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, which they say will target Americans.

The bill, known as the “Inflation Reduction Act,” was approved in a 51-50 vote as Vice President Kamala Harris served as a tie-breaker for Democrats. A provision includes the hiring of 87,000 agents, a move that was defended by Democrats, who said that the funding would target people who cheat on their taxes.

“Millions are not going to be affected by this other than receiving better service from IRS getting their phone answer and getting the questions that they need to comply with tax laws,” Senator Ben Cardin (D.Md.). Fox News interviewed Ben Cardin on Sunday. Fox News on Sunday reported that “Audits will be focused upon those with high income, large corporations, etc

Democrats pointed out a May report by the Government Accountability Office indicating that IRS audits dropped in the last decade. This includes audits for wealthy taxpayers.

In a recent letter to Congress, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said that if an additional $80 billion is given to the agency via the legislation, it would not increase audits for households that earn less than $400,000 per year.

” These resources do not aim to increase audit scrutiny of small businesses, or middle-income Americans,” Retting stated in his letter. “As we have been planning, our investment of these enforcement resources is designed around Treasury’s directive that audit rates will not rise relative to recent years for households making under $400,000.”

Warning

But Republicans warn that the IRS could target the middle class Americans by adding tens to thousands more agents.

“Really, Tommy Pigott, a Republican National Committee spokesperson, asked: “According to the Washington Examiner ., how out-of-touch do you have to get to brag about getting a purely political bill through the Senate? That raises taxes, makes inflation worse and lowers after tax income for Americans of all income levels, and sends an army of IRS enforcers after grandmother?”

And Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that those agents will “target Americans with 1.2 million new audits, more than half of which would be for people making less than $75,000 a year.”

” This bill gives away to Democrats’ radical leftist base, at the cost of the middle-class Americans. This bill is a defiance of President Biden’s pledge to not increase taxes on the middle-class. Make no mistake–this bill will hurt America and hardworking Americans at a time when we can least afford it,” Cruz wrote.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the top member of Senate Finance Committee, contested Democrat claims that new funding would be used to tax cheats or millionaires.

“My colleagues claim this massive funding boost will allow the IRS to go after millionaires, billionaires and so-called rich ‘tax cheats,’ but the reality is a significant portion raised from their IRS funding bloat would come from taxpayers with income below $400,000,” he said in a statement Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre stated Monday that GOP claims regarding more IRS audits and changes to U.S. tax codes are untrue.

“This is just the latest example, again, of those who do nothing to protect tax welfare for the rich at the expense of everything else,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday on Air Force One. They’re plain lies .”