Lies & Schemes to Defund the IRS
Now that a MAGA-dominated Republican Party holds a majority in the House, we intend to keep track of the worst bills they pass. They know that so long as Democrats control the Senate and the White House their pro-corporate, anti-people, "show-bills" will never become law. But governing responsibly on behalf of the American people is not their intention. Their goal is entirely tactical, appeasing and inciting the worst of their base while pandering to their big donors for electoral advantage in 2024.
The very first bill that the new Republican majority rammed through the House on a party-line vote made their political intentions clear. They led with yet another Big Lie that the IRS funding increase included in President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act was intended to hound and harass ordinary taxpayers and small businesses, when the language of that act specifically targeted the increase towards auditing large corporations and high-net-worth individuals rather than households making less than $400,000. Mendaciously repeating that lie, Republicans then passed their so-called "Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act" to rescind $71 billion of IRS funding on a 221-210 party-line vote.
As reported by Politico, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that cutting IRS funding will reduce tax revenue by about $186 billion, resulting in a $114 billion increase in the federal deficit over the next decade. “With their first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe,” reported the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
If actually enacted into law (which it won't be), the Republican bill would also remove money for the IRS to research the development of a free, agency-run tax return e-filing system, as well as $50 million provided to the Treasury Department to implement Democrats’ climate and health bill.
Forbes made it plain, describing the Republican bill as: "... just the first skirmish in a battle that could well result in substantial cuts in the IRS’ $12.319 billion budget by the end of 2023, limiting its ability to enforce the tax laws and to make life easier for honest tax filers."
None of these Republican lies and schemes are in any way surprising. For years, the economic bedrock of the Republican anti-government, anti-environmental protection, anti-regulation agenda has been the slogan: "Starve the Beast." They know that the American people want to combat global warming and protect the environment, provide a social safety net for seniors and low-income Americans, and rein in the worst depredations of corporate greed. So their overarching strategy is to cripple government by slashing the funding of agencies charged with protecting our well being.