The very first legislative action of the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives was to vote to repeal nearly $80 billion in funding scheduled for the Internal Revenue Service over the next decade. Republicans have hobbled the IRS for decades and they want to keep it that way, knowing that if the agency can’t function, the beneficiaries will mostly be wealthy people and their corporate benefactors.
The Senate isn’t likely to take up the House’s bill, but the bigger question is: what can the IRS do with all of that new funding? Can it overhaul its abominable customer service and make tax season less of a chore for millions of Americans? Can it reorient its enforcement capabilities
to the most complex tax returns, inevitably filed by the most powerful and well-connected entities? Can it restore some faith that nobody is above the law, no matter how rich?
Prospect writing fellow Jarod Facundo took a deep dive into the inner workings of the IRS, and the challenges it will face restoring basic competence. Jarod also assesses how Republicans who are gunning for the agency could reach their goals—and what Democrats must do to stop that from happening.
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