GOP demands IRS release spending plan for $80B cash infusion after blowing past deadline

Republicans are talking about the IRS after the agency missed a deadline to publish its plan for how it will spend the $80 billion cash injection it’s getting from the Act. of Inflation Reduction of the last Congress.

“It is incredibly troubling that the agency has so far failed to disclose its operating plan to American taxpayers and Congress,” Senator John Thune, a minority leader and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Oversight, told DailyMail.com. IRS Finance Committee.

‘The Biden administration’s IRS continues to blatantly ignore taxpayers with its lack of transparency and accountability.’

The South Dakota Republican recently led a group of lawmakers in introducing the IRS Funding Accountability Act, which would give Congress more say in how money is spent.

In a letter dated August 17, 2022, the Treasury Section. Janet Yellen directed the IRS to prepare a strategic operating plan within the six-month, February 17 deadline. Five days later, that plan has not materialized.

In the letter, Yellen said a “six-month operating plan detailing how these resources will be deployed over the course of the next decade.”

He directed the IRS to work closely with Treasury Under Secretary Wally Adeyemo to “identify specific operational initiatives and associated timelines that will improve taxpayer service, modernize technology, and increase fairness in our tax administration system by pursuing tax evasion.” from those at the top who don’t pay their tax bill today.’

Neither the IRS nor Treasury could be reached for comment. An IRS spokesperson told the Accounting Journal last week, the plan would be released “in the coming weeks.”

Any such plan will come under close scrutiny, as Republicans have denounced the additional funding and insisted it could be used to boost audit rates on average Americans.

“It is completely unacceptable for the IRS to miss its six-month deadline, and I urge the agency to release its spending plan immediately,” said Rep. Dave Schweikert, R-Ariz., chairman of the Committee on Means and Oversight subcommittee. Excise. , he told DailyMail.com.

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing for Danny Werfel, Biden’s nominee to head the IRS.

Werfel is not involved in writing the plan as he is not currently with the agency, but he has promised to see it launched. The $80 billion is intended to cover new operating costs over a 10-year period.

“The Biden administration has done nothing to reassure American families and small businesses that they will not be targeted by the $80 billion tax enforcement scheme in the Democrats’ Inflation Act,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, a Republican. from Nebraska, to DailyMail.com.

“The IRS’s failure to meet its own deadline to publish a plan for how to spend the money, and the commissioner-designate’s statement that he would not prioritize customer service over new audits, have only heightened taxpayer concerns. “.

Thune asked Werfel last week if he would commit to improving taxpayer services rather than increasing the number of audits with the new funds.

“It is incredibly troubling that the agency has so far failed to disclose its operating plan to American taxpayers and Congress,” Senator John Thune, a minority leader and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and Oversight, told DailyMail.com. IRS Finance Committee.

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing for Danny Werfel, Biden’s nominee to head the IRS.

Werfel responded that it would be a “double priority” that the IRS would be “equally focused on” under his leadership.

Yellen also ordered the IRS in an Aug. 10 letter not to increase audit fees “relative to recent years” for those making less than $400,000 a year. She said the increased funding would increase audit rates for high earners, claiming the top 1 percent were failing to pay $160 billion in taxes they owe annually.

Biden turned to Werfel to run the nation’s tax collection agency at a time when he will be tasked with hiring 86,000 new agents with the biggest influx of cash.

House Republicans began their new majority by passing a bill that would recoup the $80 billion, though it is unlikely to pass the Senate and reach the president’s desk.

The IRS has already begun requiring Americans to report third-party transactions on apps like PayPal and Venmo if they exceed $600. The winnings were already subject to tax, so the law aims to codify how they are reported to crack down on fraud.

The agency also proposed a new rule last week that would crack down on service industry tip taxes.