Demand Progress

Crack down on billionaire tax cheats! Protect and increase IRS funding.

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    Crack down on billionaire tax cheats! Protect and increase IRS funding.

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to protect the IRS funding secured in the Inflation Reduction Act and increase this funding so the IRS can continue collecting money from ultra-wealthy tax cheats.

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says it will collect $561 billion from ultra-wealthy tax cheats over the next decade because of increased funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.1

    And that’s why Republicans fought to cut IRS funding and will continue to fight for cuts — to protect millionaires and billionaires trying to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.

    Ted Cruz, the GOP, and Fox News launched a massive propaganda campaign around passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to convince people that IRS funding is a danger to everyday Americans. It’s simply false, and a diversion tactic to protect their wealthy donors from paying taxes. Congress must protect and increase IRS funding in order to crack down on ultra-wealthy tax cheats!

    Sign the petition: Protect IRS funding and increase it! Congress must reject GOP efforts to gut IRS funding for the benefit of the rich and powerful.

    There’s plenty more work for the IRS to do to recoup money from wealthy tax cheats.

    In the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats added an extra $80 billion in funding for the IRS to hold the ultra-wealthy accountable. It costs the agency substantially more resources to audit billionaires and big corporations than everyday Americans, so this increase in funding was necessary to crack down on the super-rich that avoid paying every year through tax evasion or tax cheating.

    Ever since the IRA passed, Republicans have been fixated on destroying the IRS’ newfound ability to take on the rich. Cruz and his cronies claim their plan is meant to reduce the debt, but defunding the IRS will actually increase the deficit.2 Studies show that every dollar put into the agency creates a significantly higher return for government revenue. The most profitable way for the IRS to spend money is by auditing the ultra-wealthy.3

    Congress cannot allow the GOP to gut our tax system for the benefit of billionaires and big corporations.

    Add your name: Stop Ted Cruz and the extremist GOP from slashing IRS funding. Wealthy tax cheats must pay their taxes!

    Sources:

    1. Fortune, "IRS says it will collect $560 billion more from rich tax cheats thanks to Inflation Reduction Act," February 6, 2024.
    2. Washington Post, “How much did Congress lose by defunding the IRS? Way more than we thought,” June 14, 2023.
    3. Ibid.