Republican-controlled House votes to slash IRS funding

Jan. 10 (UPI) — House Republicans voted Monday to slash billions in IRS funding, in their first majority action under a new Congress and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The House voted along party lines 221-210 Monday evening, passing legislation to rescind a good part of an Internal Revenue Service funding boost in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed last year.

The increase in IRS funding is estimated to be about $80 billion over 10 years. House Resolution 23 “would rescind certain balances made available to the Internal Revenue Service,” as Republican lawmakers claim the Biden administration plans to hire 87,000 IRS agents.

“Our first bill will repeal funding for 87,000 new IRS agents, because the government should be here to help you, not go after you,” McCarthy said early Saturday morning after he won House speaker following a 15th vote.

The Treasury Department estimated in 2021 that the $80 billion would fund just under 87,000 employees, but did not say all of those would be new agents.

Instead, the IRS says the money would be used to update its antiquated technology systems and hire and train new information technology specialists, as well as customer service representatives and some new agents.

While the bill has passed the House, it has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or the president’s desk.

According to a Congressional Budget Office report, the IRS legislation that passed the House on Monday would increase the budget deficit by $114 billion over 10 years.

The White House blasted the measure as “reckless.”

“House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe,” the White House said in a statement before Monday’s vote.

“Each year the top one percent hides about 20 percent of their income from the government so they can get away with not paying any tax on it. That means that working people — who report 99 percent of their income to the IRS — pay a larger share of collected taxes than they should,” the White House added.

“If the President were presented with H.R. 23 — or any other bill that enables the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations to cheat on their taxes, while honest and hard-working Americans are left to pay the tab — he would veto it.”