FACTCHECK: Was Congress able to exempt itself from the upcoming IRS audits?

A post shared on Facebook claims members of Congress voted to exempt themselves from any upcoming Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence to suggest that any legislation containing such language has been passed or enacted. This claim is based on a Twitter account that is satirical.

Fact Check:

The Inflation Reduction Act which President Joe Biden signed into law last week provides $80 billion in funding for the IRS, according to The Wall Street Journal. According to the outlet, part of this money will go towards tax enforcement for taxpayers with high incomes. According to ABC News ., some members of Congress suggest that the money could be used for hiring tens to thousands of agents.

A Facebook post claims that members of Congress voted recently to be exempt from future IRS audits. The post reads, “Breaking In order to protect democracy, Congress voted to exempt itself as well as its members from any future IRS audits.” The post does not give any details about the date or names of those who voted for it. The claim of the post is bogus. There are no credible news reports to suggest that Congress has passed a bill with such language. No bill seeking to exempt members of Congress from IRS audits could be found on congress.gov. There is likewise no mention of any new exemption on the IRS website or in any of the posts from the statutory body’s verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Did The IRS Hire 950 New Agents Overnight? )

The viral claim appears to stem from the satirical Twitter account @ThatmattersNews which shared the same message in an Aug. 17 tweet that now has over 10,000 retweets. The account’s pinned tweet identifies itself as satirical, reading “REPORT A new study shows that a shocking number of American adults have trouble spelling the word ‘satire,’ let alone recognizing it.”

This is not the first time misinformation regarding the IRS has spread online. Check Your Fact has recently discredited a claim by the IRS that it is creating a “sniper school”, to train new agents.