House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has warned President Joe Biden and the Democrats that Republicans will repeal their plans to expand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
During an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News, McCarthy, the likely next speaker, said the GOP will repeal the plan on Day One of taking control of the House in January.
McCarthy said repealing President Joe Biden’s plan to hire 87,000 new IRS employees is something America will see the first day he takes the gavel. (see video below)
He said: “On Day one, in this House, we will repeal 87,000 IRS agents.” Sean Hannity asked how Kevin can guarantee he can get this done. “You will have the power to do that because you’d have the power of the purse, correct?” Hannity asked.
“That’s exactly right and we will use the power of the purse…the size of our debt has got to stop.”
According to CNBC: “When President Joe Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, he authorized $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service over the next 10 years. More than $45 billion is earmarked for enforcement — part of an effort to close the estimated $600 billion “tax gap,” the difference between what Americans owe and what they actually pay.…the report says the IRS could add nearly 87,000 new staff — not all of them enforcement agents — in order to “rebuild” and “revitalize” the agency.”
As Speaker—I will take action to fix what Nancy Pelosi so badly broke.
House Republicans’ work begins immediately:
• Deliver on our Commitment to America
• Hold this Administration accountable
• Stop the Biden agenda pic.twitter.com/ATYpIhOrLu— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 16, 2022
The GOP said in September:
“Republican Leader of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), along with Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), introduced a bill to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from using its massive, $80 billion infusion of taxpayer dollars to squeeze more revenue out of American taxpayers, by repealing all enforcement funding from Democrats’ inflation act.
“The bill leaves in place funding enhancing IRS’s customer service and information technology systems.
“It’s clear the IRS has long lost touch with its mission: to serve taxpayers,” said Rep. Smith. “Democrats’ Inflation Act would result in more audits for those who can least afford it, plain and simple.
“American families don’t need more audits and red tape, and this bill will help ensure hardworking taxpayers receive satisfactory customer service without having to fear a supercharged IRS.
“Democrats want to expand the IRS with 87,000 new IRS agents to squeeze hardworking Americans who can least afford new audits,” Rep. Brady said.
“By restricting new funding for the agency to customer service and improving its technology, we are protecting middle-class workers from a supercharged IRS and ensuring that they get the help they need.”
“The so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ certainly hasn’t reduced inflation, but it has cost taxpayers more than $700 billion and doubled the size of the IRS to target middle- and low-income families and small businesses with a flood of audits and draconian ‘enforcement’ activities,” said Rep. Steel.
“The IRS has lost tens of billions of dollars to fraud and mismanagement, and I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Rep. Smith to protect the taxpayers, rein in an unaccountable federal agency, and reverse course from this dangerous path of growing bureaucracy and heavy-handed federal government.”
