Monday, December 13, 2021

Poll shows strong public opposition to Biden's plan to spend $80 billion to hire almost 87,000 new IRS agents and vastly increase audits - Thomas Lifson

 

by Thomas Lifson

According to a new HarrisX poll, 58% of likely voters said they think increased enforcement would impact middle class taxpayers the most; 23% said it would only impact the wealthy.

Thank goodness the public understands at least some of the horror that would be unleashed on us if Biden's Build Back Bankrupt plan were to become law.  One of the worst features of the bill is that it would sic hordes of new and inexperienced IRS auditors on middle America, not the billionaires that Democrat propaganda would have believe are going to be forced to "pay their fair share."

These new agents would be under pressure to prove their worth by shaking down businesses that have done their best to comply with the complex and often difficult to understand IRS regulations, many of which are subject to interpretation.  The burden of an audit is considerable.  I've been audited twice and had to pay not a single penny as a result, but the cost in terms of stress and time was considerable.

Bethany Blankely of Just the News explains an encouraging poll and some of the worrisome aspects of the BBB bill:

According to a new HarrisX poll, 58% of likely voters said they think increased enforcement would impact middle class taxpayers the most; 23% said it would only impact the wealthy.

Their inclination appears to be accurate, according to the House version of the bill. Half of the expected 1.2 million new audits would target households earning less than $75,000.

The extra funding is aimed at enforcement, not helping Americans deal with the maddeningly complex tax code:

The majority of the proposed funding — $44.9 billion — would go toward IRS enforcement compared to $1.93 billion to help taxpayers with services like pre-filing assistance and education, filing and account services, and taxpayer advocacy.

While large corporations employ a staff of lawyers and accountants who help lower their tax responsibilities, most small businesses don't. Because the IRS already audits large corporations, new agents would likely focus on small businesses that depend on cash transactions, CNBC reports.

Such small business include restaurants, hair salons, and other retail small businesses that have been devastated by COVID lockdowns in many states.  Their owners struggle to keep their businesses alive, and when faced with the time demands of an audit, their ability to keep running may be harmed.  I know that when tips in restaurants are audited, the IRS assesses what it thinks the amount should be, and it is up to the target to prove otherwise.

Note also that small business–owners are one of the key components of the Republican base.  Damaging them helps the Democrats.

The article includes a lot of information on IRS mismanagement and inability to fill vacant positions that already are funded:

A 2020 National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress showed the IRS hadn't hired over 5,000 full time employees for which it had the funding because of disorganization, incompetence, and labor union rules promoting "needless bureaucracy."

And in 2017, the Treasury Inspector General found that the IRS rehired more than 200 employees who had been fired for misconduct or performance issues.

The GOP should be advertising in states where Democrat senators are up for re-election in 2022, letting the voters know that the IRS could be launched against them if their Democrat senator votes for BBB.

 

Thomas Lifson

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/poll_shows_strong_public_opposition_to_bidens_plan_to_spend_80_billion_to_hire_almost_87000_new_irs_agents_and_vastly_increase_audits.html

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