John,

Republicans ran on a lie. And now that they narrowly control the U.S. House of Representatives, the first vote they’re planning is to fulfill a bogus election-year campaign promise.

Last year, when Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested $80 billion over 10 years in modernizing the IRS, Republicans claimed this would result in an army of 87,000 IRS agents who would be auditing everyday people and small businesses.

This, of course, was an election-year lie meant to scare voters―and numerous fact-checking organizations called them on it.[1] The unprecedented investment in the IRS will help crack down on wealthy and corporate tax cheats and allow the IRS to provide better customer service to everyday taxpayers.

Take action! Tell Congress to reject the first Republican order of business in 2023: protecting rich and corporate tax cheats from being caught by the IRS.

In 2010, congressional Republicans slashed IRS funding, which has led to a 20% budget cut today,[2] and a 25% cut to IRS enforcement.[3] This in turn has resulted in huge delays in processing tax returns and refunds, and has allowed the richest 1% to avoid paying $160 billion in taxes each year.[1]

IRS staffing is down 22% since 2010, declining from more than 94,500 full-time equivalent workers in 2010 to just 73,500 in 2021.[2] Enforcement staff was cut by 31%.[5]

IRS audit rates of large corporations have declined by 54% and audit rates of millionaires have dropped 71%![2]

Now that congressional Democrats have made critical investments in rebuilding the IRS, Republicans want to take that funding away and allow their wealthy donors to continue to avoid paying what they owe in taxes. We won’t let that happen!

Tell Congress to reject congressional Republicans first order of business: Defunding the IRS!

Together, we fought for and won investments in the IRS to crack down on wealthy and corporate tax cheats and to provide first-class service to taxpayers. We’re fighting for a tax system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

Frank Clemente
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

[1] “ATF Urges House to Vote NO on GOP Bill to Protect Rich & Corporate Tax Cheats,” Americans for Tax Fairness, Jan. 3, 2023
[2] “Congress Needs to Take Two Steps to Fund the IRS for the Short and Long Term,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Feb. 1, 2022
[3] “Added IRS Funding Would Help Ensure High-Income Households, Businesses Pay Their Taxes,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Aug. 12, 2022
[4] “The Case for a Robust Attack on the Tax Gap,” U.S. Department of Treasury, Sep. 7, 2021
[5] “Chart Book: The Need to Rebuild the Depleted IRS,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Dec. 16, 2022