John,

Did you know that the IRS audits low-income families at about the same rate that they audit the richest 1%?[1]

If that’s not outrageous enough, it’s estimated that the wealthy and corporate tax cheats evade an estimated $400 billion in taxes every year.[2]

Due to a gutting of the IRS’s enforcement budget by congressional Republicans in recent years, and the IRS’s subsequent inability to enforce our tax laws, millionaires, billionaires and corporations are able to avoid paying their fair share in taxes without fear of being held accountable.

Just take Donald Trump, who according to the New York Times paid no federal income taxes in 11 out of 18 recent years and just $750 as President in 2017.[3] An audit of his tax returns has been going on for years with no end in sight.

We need Congress and the incoming Biden-Harris administration to dramatically increase funding for the IRS’s enforcement capabilities and to ensure they prioritize making the wealthy and large corporations pay what they owe.

Sign the petition to Congress and the incoming Biden-Harris administration to make tax enforcement of the rich and corporations a top priority. We need to strengthen the IRS, enabling them to investigate and audit the richest 1%.

Due to funding cuts, the IRS fails to go after hundreds of thousands of high-income individuals each year who fail to file tax returns.[2]

Two important steps would be for Congress to enact legislation to dramatically increase the IRS’s enforcement capabilities and then require it to prioritize audits of the richest 1% and big corporations.  

These investments could raise tens of billions of dollars in the short term and perhaps a trillion dollars over the longer term.[2]

The reality is that the tax returns of the rich and corporations are much more complicated than yours or mine. It takes well-trained personnel to investigate and hold accountable wealthy tax dodgers who are able to hire high-priced lawyers and accountants to protect their wealth while they cheat regular law-abiding taxpayers.

Sign the petition to Congress and the incoming Biden-Harris administration to invest in the IRS and prioritize making the rich and corporations pay what they owe in taxes.

Unrigging our tax system and the broader economy requires giving the IRS the resources it needs to put an end to rampant tax evasion by the wealthy and corporations.

Thank you,

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness

[1] “It’s Getting Worse: The IRS Now Audits Poor Americans at About the Same Rate as the Top 1%,” ProPublica, May 30, 2019

[2] “Shrinking the Tax Gap: Better IRS Policing of the Wealthy & Corporations Would Ensure More of What’s Owed is Collected,” Americans for Tax Fairness, Nov. 20, 2020

[3] “18 Revelations from a Trove of Trump Tax Records,” New York Times, Sep. 27, 2020