Dear John,

The IRS is set to receive its largest funding increase in years thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. You know who should be worried about this?

Ultra-rich criminal tax cheats.

Recent figures estimate that the richest 1% are hiding more than 20% of their earnings from the IRS, accounting for more than one third of all unpaid federal taxes.^[1] Some estimates show that collecting all unpaid federal income taxes from the wealthiest Americans could generate anywhere from $200 billion to $1.75 trillion over the decade.^[2][3]

Republicans couldn’t stop the Inflation Reduction Act and its investments in the IRS to go after these wealthy tax dodgers, so now they’re choosing to lie and spread disinformation about it instead -- and Facebook and other social media are enabling them in the process.

The Republican fear mongering is dangerous. Lies claiming armed agents will storm middle class homes and small businesses are designed to manipulate and agitate the worst elements of our society.

When social media companies know what’s fact versus fiction, but don’t crack down on this misinformation, they become part of the problem. Join me in calling on social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to crack down on Republican lies and disinformation about the modernization of the IRS now.

So why hasn’t our government been able to collect all that untaxed money from the richest of the rich?

Because the IRS has been underfunded and severely understaffed -- thanks in large part to a decades-long campaign from Republicans to transfer wealth to the top. Over the past 10 years, the IRS budget has been reduced by roughly 20%^[4] while staffing levels today match what they were in 1973 even though the American population is almost a third larger now.

On top of that, the tax returns of the wealthy are very difficult, time consuming, and incredibly costly to audit^[5] -- and rich taxpayers often have platoons of lawyers and accountants that shield them from tax liabilities. Without proper resources, it’s harder for the IRS to go after the wealthiest Americans not paying what they owe. That’s why just 2% of the richest Americans had their taxes audited in 2019, down from 16% in 2010.^[6]

When the IRS can’t function properly, all taxpayers aren’t off the hook evenly -- and the result is a tax system stuck in a cycle where the working class bears the brunt while the rich hoard wealth that could be used to invest in America.

From Russian disinformation working hand in hand with Republican operatives both knowingly and unknowingly in 2016, to Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” which led to the deadly January 6th attack on our Capitol in 2021, and everything in between, for almost a decade now, we’ve seen the damage that lies and disinformation do to our country.

Now, the most recent lies about the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for classified documents have led to threats and violence against FBI agents^[7], while disinformation about funding for the IRS is intended to scare American taxpayers and incite even more violence against President Biden and Democrats in Congress.

It’s time for social media platforms to immediately crack down on Republican lies and disinformation about the IRS. Sign the petition today >>

The next time you hear Republicans in Congress complaining about increasing IRS enforcement, remember that the richest 1% of Americans evade as much as $163,000,000,000 in taxes each year.

That’s who Republicans are trying to protect.

IRS funding is a good thing. It means the agency can finally go after the real freeloaders in America: The super-rich.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action

^{[1] The richest 1 percent dodge taxes on more than one-fifth of their income, study shows, Washington Post
[2] Senate Revenue Package Is Sound Policy. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
[3] Tax Evasion at the Top of the Income Distribution: Theory and Evidence, National Bureau of Economic Research
[4] IRS Budget Cuts, Staffing Challenges Create Coronavirus Payment Headaches, NPR
[5] IRS: Sorry, but It’s Just Easier and Cheaper to Audit the Poor, ProPublica
[6] Just 2% of the richest Americans had their taxes audited in 2019, down from 16% in 2010, CNBC
[7] The search of Mar-a-Lago leads to outrage against the FBI by Trump supporters, NPR}