Bloomberg News reports that the $80 billion fund injected for the Internal Revenue Service to aid in going after the tax cheat amounts serves as more of a lifeline for the agency. The Republican-led funding curbs eviscerated over many years, with the challenges ahead of hiring the talent it will require.
The IRS has lost as many as 23,000 workers since 2010, and it is anticipated that another 50,000 workers might be lost five years to retirement alone. The agency had 80,000 during the peak of the tax season. Many of the losses that have taken place in the last decade have been derived from the main departments that aid in enforcing tax laws and help taxpayers in completing their duties.
IRS Employees
Although the Inflation Reduction Act, signed on August 16th by President Joe Biden, is counting on enhanced revenue from the IRS enforcement to assist in paying for a slew of climate-change initiatives. It might take years before the government might start to see results as the agency strives to build itself again.
In 2013, following a scandal that involved the IRS official targeting conservative groups for applying for non-profit status, it was seen by the Republicans that there was a major loophole that could make them go after the agency. However, their attempt failed, and their plan of impeaching the former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen many years after the incident followed.
However, Bloomberg News reports that the GOP succeeded in enforcing a series of budget cuts over several years, thereby taking control of both the Senate and the House.
These cuts compelled the IRS to slow down on audits of the rich. The effects, however, proved to be universal. While few funds took many years to get processed, in time, just 11% of the calls were placed to the Internal Revenue Service, which would eventually reach a human customer service representative. Despite struggling to stay afloat, new tasks were assigned to the agency, including implementing the Republican tax law of 2017 and the distribution of three rounds during the pandemic of stimulus payments.
Bloomberg News reports that the volume of complaints related to low service levels attained in 2020 came to a fever pitch, compelling the lawmakers to reckon with building the diminished agency again.
