John,
Republicans in Congress are launching yet another attack on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), targeting its historic investment in the IRS. Why? Because they want to protect billionaire and corporate tax cheats, while forcing working families to pay the price.
The IRA gave the IRS the resources it needed to go after the wealthiest tax evaders. And it’s working. The agency has launched enforcement actions against 125,000 high-income individuals who haven’t filed taxes since 2017. In just six months, nearly 21,000 wealthy individuals were forced to file, coughing up $172 million in back taxes. Another IRS initiative focusing on millionaires with over $250,000 in tax debt has already recovered over $1.1 billion. [1]
That’s real money that can be invested in healthcare, infrastructure, and education.
But now, Republicans want to claw back this funding and give the green light to rich tax cheats.
If they succeed, wealthy people and big corporations that cheat on their taxes will once again game the system, illegally evading what they owe while working families pick up the tab. Even worse, they want to use the money they rip from IRS enforcement to help pay for new tax cuts for the rich.
We must stop them. Tell Congress: Hands off the Inflation Reduction Act’s IRS funding!
The numbers don’t lie: Investing in IRS enforcement is a win for everyone except ultra-wealthy tax evaders. Additional funding for the IRS in the IRA could raise $851 billion in revenue over the next decade. But if Congress repeals this investment, it could cost the government over $100 billion in lost revenue. [2]
That means fewer resources for schools, roads, and other public services while billionaires and multinational corporations break the law with impunity.
We’ve seen what happens when the IRS is underfunded. Between 2010 and 2020, Republicans deliberately slashed IRS resources, allowing millionaire and billionaire tax cheats to avoid paying what they owed. Low-income Americans were audited at five times the rate of the wealthiest taxpayers. That’s the system Republicans want to bring back—one where working-class Americans face IRS scrutiny while the rich walk away scot-free.
By keeping the IRS fully funded, we’re not just making tax enforcement fairer, we’re making sure that working Americans get the benefits they deserve. The IRA has also made critical investments in clean energy, small businesses, and healthcare—all paid for by higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations—proving that when billionaires pay their fair share, we all win.
Don’t let Congress gut the IRA to give tax breaks to the wealthy. Demand that lawmakers protect the IRS funding that’s holding tax cheats accountable!
Thank you for standing up for tax fairness and tax-law enforcement.
David Kass
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS announce $1.3 billion recovered from high-income, high-wealth individuals under Inflation Reduction Act initiatives
[2] IRS Analysis: Inflation Reduction Act Funds to Raise More Revenue Than Expected
