House Republicans Defund Joe Biden's IRS Zombie Army

This won't even get to the president's desk for a veto.

House Republicans passed a rules package Monday. Slow claps all around! They were on such a roll they even passed a giveaway for wealthy tax cheats as their first order of business. They voted to rescind additional funding to the Internal Revenue Service, which was part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans have insisted that President Joe Biden was amassing an army of 87,000 IRS agents he'd sic on YOU, the average American taxpayer who keeps their receipts in a shoebox. In reality, the IRS wouldreceive $78 billon over the next 10 years with $45.6 billion set aside for “enforcement.”

The IRS was hiring 87,000 employees in general, not agents specifically, by 2031. Most of these aren't even new positions but a slow restoration of staff to where it was a decade ago. Rep. Katie Porter tweeted last night, in her no-nonsense manner, "When Republicans took power in 2010, they defunded the IRS so it would be easier for their ultra-wealthy donors to cheat taxes. Families have since been dealing with delays, and big corporations have been pocketing billions in taxes they owe under the law each year."

She continued, "I’ve been pushing to give the IRS the resources it needs to serve taxpayers and crack down on ultra-wealthy tax cheats. With 50,000+ workers — including many customer service representatives — set to retire soon, time has been of the essence."

Porter even has an instructional video! 

“I’ve been pushing to give the IRS the resources it needs to serve taxpayers and crack down on ultra-wealthy tax cheats. With 50,000+ workers—including many customer service representatives—set to retire soon, time has been of the essence. (2/3) https: //t.co/sZBp3NFnCE”

— Rep. Katie Porter (@Rep. Katie Porter) 1673319292 

PREVIOUSLY:

 House Republicans' First Order Of Business EVEN BEFORE KILLING IRS: Kill House 'Ethics' Office :) 

 Inflation Reduction Act’s Gonna Make Sure Rich People Pay Their Taxes. What Is This, VENEZUELA? 

Republican Rep. Jason Smith from Missouri — the new chair of the House Ways and Means Committee — declared, "The IRS does not need a raise — it needs a reckoning,” which we assume is a statement of actual relevance, but maybe we're too generous. Republicans have it in their pointy heads that the IRS is out to get conservatives, even though their mad MAGA king has paid less in taxes than the family living under the L train. Scuzzbags like Donald Trump are who Republicans are protecting, not normal, hardworking Americans.

Smith lies about how the IRS funding "targets working families" in the same statement where he claims Republicans have made "a commitment to the American people to build a stronger economy [for] everyone – not just the wealthy and politically-connected." This is only believable if you've paid no attention to actual Republican policies over the past 50 years.

He also vowed to waste the next IRS commissioner's time in shouty hearings intended to provide Fox News soundbites. He said that Daniel Werfel, President Joe Biden's nominee, should “plan to spend a lot of time before our committee answering questions about the leaking of sensitive taxpayer information and an agency with a history of targeting conservative Americans.”

 A federal watchdog group determined that the IRS had targeted conservative and progressive groups seeking tax-exempt status — and of course under Donald Trump, the IRS actually went after anyone who'd dared to investigate him. (The inspector general has declared it both very legal and very cool.) Please note that the Tea Party isn't a religious organization so should probably pay taxes.

Yelling at the new IRS commissioner is probably the most that House Republicans can actually do. Democrats still control the White House and Senate, so this is more a "messaging" bill for the rightwing base. We can expect to see a flood of those over the next two years. Biden has dismissed the IRS defunding bill as "reckless" and has promised to veto it even if passed the Senate, which it won't. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer call the bill “a giveaway to the multimillionaires and big corporations, and Democrats won’t let it happen.”

See, Rep. Smith? When Chuck Schumer talks tough, it actually means something. God bless that continued Senate majority.

[ New York Times ]

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