The spittle flecked anger from conservatives over increased IRS funding to catch rich tax cheats never ceases to astonish me. I can understand this kind of anger over big hot-button subjects like abortion or the border, but IRS funding? Here is Dominic Pino in National Review, who is apoplectic over Biden's recent announcement that the IRS collected an extra $500 million in the first year after the new funding was passed:
This [infographic] just shows how nonsensical the emphasis on extra IRS funding always was.
First, the Biden administration wanted to raise $400 billion over the next ten years with greater tax enforcement.... Now it’s supposed to be some great victory that, over a year after the IRS expansion was passed into law, they’ve raised $500 million.
Second, the purpose of extra revenue from the IRS was supposed to be to balance out the extra spending from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. But the administration’s post is all about how it wants to spend the extra $500 million. Democrats want to use the money to expand government even further, not reduce the deficit.
As I have noted before, it’s important to remember that IRS employees are some of the only federal workers who are unionized. When in power, perhaps the primary purpose of the Democratic Party as an organization is to direct taxpayer money to unionized government employees. The influx of cash for the IRS will expand membership in the National Treasury Employees Union, which donates almost entirely to Democrats. It was never primarily about the extra revenue.
Let's take a breath. First, President Biden estimated the increased funding would bring in $320 billion over ten years. That's the number.
Second, only 0.8% of the new funding has been spent, and increased enforcement only got seriously underway three months ago. It's hardly surprising that only 0.15% of the expected tax haul has been collected so far.
Third, the infographic is just an aid to understanding, like saying you could stack four million football fields from here to the moon. Dumb, maybe, but otherwise meaningless.
Fourth, NTEU (a labor union that represents 31 federal agencies including the IRS) contributes a grand total of about $800,000 to Democrats each campaign cycle. Realistically, the increase in IRS employees will probably produce an approximately 16% boost in NTEU members,¹ which suggests a similar increase in contributions. That comes to about $100,000 by 2033. This is highly unlikely to have been front of mind when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
The IRS plans to use part of its newfound funding to hire several thousand high-end compliance officers, the kind who have the background to go after complicated high-dollar tax returns. There are a variety of estimates of how much this will bring in, but it's notable that literally everyone agrees it will be a net positive. The rest of the funding will be used to man helplines, produce a free online tax filing app, and update the agency's ancient computer systems. Even for Republicans, it's remarkable that they aren't just opposed to this, they are rabidly, madly opposed to it.
¹The net increase in IRS employees from the IRA funding comes to about 37,000. The IRS unionization rate is around 66%, which means NTEU will probably add 24,000 members to its current 150,000. That's a 16% increase.
I thought postal workers were unionized? But yeah, the right wing sure loves its tax cheats. Also grifters, confidence men, deadbeas, free riders, embezzlers, ...
As long as they call themselves "Republicans."
Yes. I’m disappointed that Kevin failed to address the issue of unionized federal workers. There hundreds of thousands that are.
They do not have the right to strike. All they can do is work to rule and bother management with protests and meetings.
The spittle flecked anger over increased IRS funding to catch rich tax cheats never ceases to astonish me.
It is emphatically NOT about IRS funding "to catch rich tax cheats." It is about IRS funding for takin' mah hard-earned tax dollers 'n' damn givin' 'em away to them lazy Inner-City types on their wel-fare and them Obama-phones 'n' ever'thing else! An' payin' themselves to do it!!
They are stupid people who are easily manipulated by the more powerful stupid people they pay deference to.
Why don't Democrats POUND the GOP over protecting billionaire tax cheats? This seems to be a made-to-order issue, especially since they've managed to rebrand Democrats (somehow) as the party of rich bankers and tech bros.
Yes, you’re making an excellent point. Republicans can afford to ingratiate themselves with ritch tax chests because they know that the Democrats won’t make them pay a political price. Partly because they too want money and future career opportunities from rich tax cheats. But mainly because attacking Republicans isn’t bipartisan. And the Democratic Party’s leadership and consultant class thinks it’s a good idea to keep politics out of politics.
Sadly, you are pretty much right.
The Republican Party, dedicated to the notion that this nation, under Trump, shall have a new birth of tax cheating, and the government of grifters, by grifters, for grifters shall not perish from the earth.
"of the grifters, by the grifters and for the grifters" scans better. Each phrase has the same number of syllables as the one it replaces, which is important when you're repurposing a famous line. "Grifter" is also a trochee, like "people", so the meter is retained.
Your idea is brilliant. Thank you.
" Even for Republicans, it's remarkable that they aren't just opposed to this, they are rabidly, madly opposed to it."
Their customers ("donors") are pissed off, so obviously they are madly opposed to it. Every service-provider would behave the same, and Republicans are (political) service-providers for rich poeople.
Republicans -- Grover Norquist types (which is pretty all of them, no?) -- want filing tax returns to be as difficult as possible to enrage as many people as possible about taxes. Not only should we have to experience the injury of paying taxes, we should also experience the insult of the filing procedure being as difficult as possible. This is one reason that the GOP refuses to allow the IRS to calculate taxes owed for those with fairly simple incomes -- W2, and a few 1099s. That would make paying taxes too easy. It's also why so many (not all) on the right in this country oppose a VAT: you should feel the pain of every $ that goes from your pocket to the government. VATs are too hidden.
So, no, it is not "remarkable that they aren't just opposed to this, they are rabidly, madly opposed to it."
I think I know why they are rabidly, madly opposed to this or any other method to raise more revenue from the wealthy. First, of course, is that the public good has strictly zero value to contemporary Republicans. Their goal is power and ideological goals that used to explain what they wanted to do with that power have largely rotted away. The basic Republican methods for getting and holding power nowadays are (1) raise money from the wealthy by helping them get richer and (2) win votes from the deplorables by making populist promises. Those populist promises can't conflict with method #1, so they are culture war horseshit. But here's the rub: populist promises that conflict with method #1 ARE popular, often more popular than the culture war horseshit, even among their deplorable base. Thus Democrats employing method #2 strategies that conflict with the GOP's method #1 are a dire threat to their ability to acquire and hold power. They can't one-up Democrats on those approaches, so it triggers panicked fury in them.
The long term plan for the GOP has been to defund any aspect of the government that’s not defense or basic infrastructure related.
As long as you define "basic infrastructure" as "freeways".
There's a very large segment of this country that views taxation as theft, because they're fragile as fuck.
National Review:
"When in power, perhaps the primary purpose of the Democratic Party as an organization is to [__________________________]".
We can all "perhaps" people and organizations. Perhaps inside the skull of every National Review essayist there is a pair of dice, a kumquat, and a 1/2"-13 x 3-3/4" anchor bolt.
Well that explains it, then. The nut the bolts screw into has 20 threads per inch, not 13, so that's why they've got a few loose ones.
If Biden really wanted to direct money to unionized workers his infrastructure bills wouldn't have benefitted red states more than his supporters.
My late wife worked in the San Jose IRS office back in the 1980's. She developed a calling with accountants, CPA's and tax attorneys. They would ask for her by name. She worked the walk in and phone calls. She wanted to become a desk auditor but quit when her boss asked her to lie on TV.
Republicans are outraged by any moves that increase government revenue because they weaken the case for cutting spending.
What do you expect from republicans who are concerned with the federal debt?
(sarcasm)
"The spittle flecked anger over increased IRS funding to catch rich tax cheats never ceases to astonish me."
This kind of thing is surprising and impossible to predict, but easy to explain in hindsight.
In 1759, Adam Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiment, the idea that, if we're good, we'll pay a small price in the short term, but it's an investment with an enormous long-term ROI.
In 1961, Milton Freidman published Capitalism and Freedom, the idea that, if we're bad, we'll benefit in the short term and be dead before the chickens come home to roost. Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher thought, "What a great idea."
Because the Republican Party has been operating on Freidman's principle ever since, they think and act like the bad guys are the good guys, and the good guys are the bad guys.
And Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, is rolling in his grave.
Deficit, shmeficit. How can they starve this beast enough to drown it in the bathtub, if Biden insists on feeding it and taking it to the vet and upgrading its quarters?
The GOP complains the IRS does not answer the phone fast enough and then cuts money from the IRS that would hire more people to answer the phone. Among other things.
The GOP. The pro crime party.
It's personal with them. Not only are a lot of them local business guys who benefit from creative interpretations/cheating of the tax code (IE "I reported my giant truck and vacation as business expenses" or even "I just didn't bother reporting this income for tax purposes"), but their entire social circle are made up of guys like this.
THIS!!!!!!!
Pino is blank-faced stupid. The things that the chart suggests as expenditure items the $500 million might pay for are things that the IRA included as targets for action or things that the government already does anyway.
Since the budget is in a pretty big annual deficit, any spending on these things isn't NEW spending, it's just LESS BORROWING. The spending would have happened anyway.
Of course, it is possible that Pino actually understands this and is just lying about it.
Actually, both are probably true.
"the infographic is just an aid to understanding, like saying you could stack four million football fields from here to the moon"
I think we all know that if a Democrat said something was like stacking four million football fields from here to the moon, the next day would see an avalanche of headlines claiming that Democrats want to use your tax dollars to stack four million football fields on top of one another.
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