KEM--Please don't make it sound like the current funding for the IRS is being cut by $20B which is the Republican view of a "win"--What was cut by $20B was a quarter of the $80 billion ADDED in the Infrastruture bill, so $60B of additioanl funding was preserved by Biden in the negotiation.
The link below on the impact of the debt ceiling …
KEM--Please don't make it sound like the current funding for the IRS is being cut by $20B which is the Republican view of a "win"--What was cut by $20B was a quarter of the $80 billion ADDED in the Infrastruture bill, so $60B of additioanl funding was preserved by Biden in the negotiation.
The link below on the impact of the debt ceiling bill from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center explains the best and worst case scenarios and how much leeway Biden worked into this. Namely it being Biden's choice on what the reduced additional funding can get spent on. The article notes how it would be really hard to spend even the $60B add in quickly in the 3 years that are covered under the deal with McCarthy. The basic idea is how long it takes the government to spend money to modernize IT systems and hire and train new auditors and lawyers capable of dealing the 1%. And by keeping the agreement vague and only for 3 years not a lot of current damage can be done that can't be undone under a Democratic Congress.
"At least for the time being, the IRS still retains most of the IRA funding boost. Rather than accelerating spending or slowing investments, the IRS could stay the course and cautiously test out approaches that could improve the efficiency and fairness of tax administration and then provide Congress with the evidence to evaluate the agency’s spending needs. If Congress were to act on that evidence, the Biden-McCarthy deal could yield a good outcome for the IRS and the vast majority of taxpayers."
I would not be surprised if it turned out that the figure written into the bill was deliberately inflated because the Biden admin knew the Republicans would be looking for a way to cut it. In other words, they built something into the bill they could give up in order to make a compromise and still keep essential functions protected. In which case, knowing the GOP puppet masters' fixation on taxes, they might also have planted a large number for the IRS into the bill to take the focus away from other provisions that might be harder to protect. That's all speculation, but given the way Biden handled the debt ceiling negotiations, it looks like he has a deeper appreciation for how legislation and deal making work than he's been given credit for.
I think you are right. Sometimes the size of the stick, rather than its frequency of use, gets more attention, corrected IRS submissions, and oh-my-gosh we made errors in reporting. I suspect a few swipes with the larger stick can get the intestines of criminal actions moving in the right way. Way fewer accounting firms likely to suggest "let them correct your claims" advice to corporations and deep pocket $400k+ cheats.
A more detailed explanation, and yes, I have seen the variations that are possible. Please note that I did write “$60B more than was dedicated before” which indicates that I am not writing about current funding.
KEM--Please don't make it sound like the current funding for the IRS is being cut by $20B which is the Republican view of a "win"--What was cut by $20B was a quarter of the $80 billion ADDED in the Infrastruture bill, so $60B of additioanl funding was preserved by Biden in the negotiation.
The link below on the impact of the debt ceiling bill from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center explains the best and worst case scenarios and how much leeway Biden worked into this. Namely it being Biden's choice on what the reduced additional funding can get spent on. The article notes how it would be really hard to spend even the $60B add in quickly in the 3 years that are covered under the deal with McCarthy. The basic idea is how long it takes the government to spend money to modernize IT systems and hire and train new auditors and lawyers capable of dealing the 1%. And by keeping the agreement vague and only for 3 years not a lot of current damage can be done that can't be undone under a Democratic Congress.
"At least for the time being, the IRS still retains most of the IRA funding boost. Rather than accelerating spending or slowing investments, the IRS could stay the course and cautiously test out approaches that could improve the efficiency and fairness of tax administration and then provide Congress with the evidence to evaluate the agency’s spending needs. If Congress were to act on that evidence, the Biden-McCarthy deal could yield a good outcome for the IRS and the vast majority of taxpayers."
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/what-debt-ceiling-agreement-means-irs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Policy_Center#:~:text=The%20Urban%2DBrookings%20Tax%20Policy,issues%2C%20and%20to%20communicate%20its
I would not be surprised if it turned out that the figure written into the bill was deliberately inflated because the Biden admin knew the Republicans would be looking for a way to cut it. In other words, they built something into the bill they could give up in order to make a compromise and still keep essential functions protected. In which case, knowing the GOP puppet masters' fixation on taxes, they might also have planted a large number for the IRS into the bill to take the focus away from other provisions that might be harder to protect. That's all speculation, but given the way Biden handled the debt ceiling negotiations, it looks like he has a deeper appreciation for how legislation and deal making work than he's been given credit for.
I think you are right. Sometimes the size of the stick, rather than its frequency of use, gets more attention, corrected IRS submissions, and oh-my-gosh we made errors in reporting. I suspect a few swipes with the larger stick can get the intestines of criminal actions moving in the right way. Way fewer accounting firms likely to suggest "let them correct your claims" advice to corporations and deep pocket $400k+ cheats.
A more detailed explanation, and yes, I have seen the variations that are possible. Please note that I did write “$60B more than was dedicated before” which indicates that I am not writing about current funding.
Thank You for this clarity George!
Can’t thanknyou enough for this