GOP Leader McCarthy: First Bill Next Congress Will Cut IRS Budget

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) affirmed today that should Republicans retake the House of Representatives this election the first bill introduced next Congress will be to rollback increased IRS funding for 87,000 new agents.

McCarthy’s comments came as he introduced the Commitment to America, an outline of House Republicans’ agenda should they retake the House of Representatives this fall. The Commitment to America includes priorities that seek to make the American economy strong, make our nation safer, promote freedom, and make government more accountable. 

“On our very first bill, we’re going to repeal 87,000 IRS agents,” McCarthy said to the applause of the crowd. “Our job is to work for you, not go after you.”

MCCARTHY: Our very first bill will repeal Biden's 87,000 new IRS agents.

“Our job is to work for you, not go after you.” pic.twitter.com/c4SWOBVWeG

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 23, 2022

The poorly named Inflation Reduction Act adds $80 billion in new funding for the IRS. This additional spending will go towards hiring 87,000 new IRS agents to go after American families and small businesses to help finance Democrats trillion-dollar spending spree. 

Of the $80 billion in new funding, $44.9 billion will go towards tax enforcement while a mere $1.93 billion goes towards taxpayer services – meaning Democrats spent 14 times more on increasing enforcement than improving taxpayer services. Taxpayer services include things like pre-filing assistance and education along with filing and account services. 

Rather than putting this new funding towards hiring new workers to answer taxpayers’ phone calls, of which the IRS only currently answers about 20 percent, or investing in replacing their outdated computer systems which have resulted in countless Americans getting their tax returns late, Democrats instead decided to focus on increasing audits on middle and lower-class American families. 

Democrats have claimed this funding won’t go towards any new IRS audits on Americans making less than $400,000, but a preliminary assessment from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows otherwise. The CBO estimates that at least $20 billion of new revenue from increased IRS audits will come from individuals earning less than $400,000 per year. 

Leader McCarthy’s statement shows that Republicans top focus in the House would be to repeal this additional funding, removing any ability for the IRS to hire new agents and target middle and lower-class American families.