Democrats' IRS Crackdown on Millionaires Draws in $1 Billion

As the U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday that it had recovered $1 billion in unpaid taxes from wealthy individuals, economic justice advocates said the news served as a reminder of a top priority for the Republican Party: ensuring that tax evasion can continue among the richest Americans.

The IRS was able to recover the tax payments "thanks to historic funding from Democrats," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). "Every single Republican in Congress voted against it and Republicans are hellbent on helping millionaires [to] keep stealing from you."

The Biden administration and Democrats in Congress pushed for the inclusion of $80 billion for the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, with the money earmarked to allow the agency to hire more tax evasion enforcement staff and hold wealthy people and corporations accountable for tax avoidance.

When former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took the gavel last year, he said a proposal to repeal the funding would be the "very first bill" introduced by the party, claiming the Democrats aimed to force working Americans to pay more in taxes.

The GOP managed to repeal $20 billion of the funding as part of a deal to suspend the debt ceiling in May 2023.

"Our message for these taxpayers is that now that we are resourced, we can do the job of ensuring that they pay."

Stopping the IRS from cracking down on wealthy tax cheats, said Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy for the Center for American Progress, "is THE biggest GOP priority."

Under former Republican President Donald Trump's administration, an analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) showed last year, the IRS audited low-income Americans at a higher rate than millionaires for the first time.

The IRS said the new funding allowed it to track down and contact 1,600 taxpayers with more than $1 million of income who owed more than $250,000 in tax debt.

"Our message for these taxpayers is that now that we are resourced, we can do the job of ensuring that they pay," said IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.

Last month the IRS proposed a rule to stop "partnership basis shifting," which allows a business or individual to move assets to avoid paying taxes. The rule could recover more than $50 billion in revenue over a decade, according to the Treasury Department.

The results announced Thursday come from the agency's spending of $5.7 billion—about 10%—of its IRA funding.

"This is what happens when you fund the IRS," said ATF. "Anyone trying to cut IRS funding just wants to protect rich tax cheats."