Republicans Resist the “politicization” of the IRS | Nationwide

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden has urged stepping up IRS audits of companies to generate revenue for his new spending proposals, but Republicans are sounding the alarm about the potential ramifications of the plan.

Earlier this year, Biden unveiled its Made in America Tax Plan as a strategy to fund its planned new federal spending of $ trillion, which includes multiple tax increases. Nonetheless, a bipartisan coalition made up of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate has approved the basic framework for Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, but one element has been the subject of negotiations between the Republicans: no new taxes.

However, the GOP’s pushback against tax hikes is putting more pressure on the Biden government to find ways to fund its agenda. Aside from Biden’s controversial tax hike proposals, the president has also proposed adding $ 80 billion in funding to the IRS to help step up corporate audits.

“All of these measures will make it much harder for the largest companies to avoid or evade taxes by removing parts of tax law that are too easily abused,” the White House said. “This is paired with an investment in enforcement to ensure companies are paying their fair share. Typical workers’ wages are reported to the IRS and their employer withholds them to pay any taxes they owe. In contrast, large corporations have loopholes that they use to evade or avoid tax debt, and an army of highly paid accountants and accountants to help them get away with it. “

The Biden government claims the increase in IRS audits could generate sales of up to $ 700 billion.

“At the same time, an underfunded IRS lacks the capacity to review these suspicious tax maneuvers: a decade ago essentially all large companies were audited annually by the IRS; Today the exam rates are less than 50 percent, “said the White House. “This plan will reverse those trends and ensure that the Internal Revenue Service has the resources it needs to effectively enforce tax laws against businesses.”

However, now the IRS is under increasing scrutiny. The federal agency recently came under fire for denying tax-exempt status to a Christian organization called Christians Engaged because “biblical teachings typically match the [Republican] Party and candidate. “

That reaction sparked outrage, including letters from Republicans in the House and Senate. The IRS responded by reversing the decision, but not without renewing conservative skepticism towards the agency and comparing it to the Tea Party IRS scandal, where documents showed that the IRS was conservative during the tenure of former President Barack Obama Targeted groups.

The reversal of the IRS in the case of the committed Christians failed to dispel the suspicions of the Republicans.

“President Biden’s politicization of the IRS, particularly attacks on conservative and religious groups, should affect every single American who values ​​their constitutional rights,” said US MP Carol Miller, RW.V. “On the Ways and Means Committee, my Republican colleagues and I are fighting this blatant partisanship to ensure that the IRS follows the rule of law and treats any American organization objectively.”

The IRS also faced major problems over the past year. A recent report by the National Taxpayer Advocate found that the IRS ended its final tax season with millions of tax returns.

“The 2021 registration season was the quintessential perfect storm,” the report said. “No one could have predicted a global pandemic or the ongoing and ongoing impact on taxpayers, IRS staff, and the tax administration over the past 15 months. For the obvious, this filing season has been challenging for tens of millions of taxpayers and far from normal for the IRS and its staff. “

Millions of Americans who filed their federal income taxes earlier this year are still waiting for their refund.

“The past year and 2021 filing season conjured up all sorts of stereotypes for taxpayers, tax professionals, the IRS and its employees,” said Erin Collins, who wrote the report. “It was a perfect storm; it was the best of times and the worst; patience is a virtue; with experience comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes experience; from the ashes we rise; and we have seen historical ups and downs.”

These problems and fears of a weapons-grade IRS challenge Biden’s plan to re-fund audits.

“IRS political abuse seems to happen every time Joe Biden is in the White House, and once again the IRS is involved in targeting political opponents or advancing a partisan agenda,” a Ways and Means statement said Committee. “Every American’s tax return would be more vulnerable to the Biden administration’s new proposals.”