Chu, Pascrell Lead Members Demanding Adequate IRS Funding to Pursue Wealthy Tax Cheats

Press Release

U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (CA-27), a member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, led 25 House members in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House and Senate Appropriations leaders calling on them to retain the House-passed funding level of $12.1 billion for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including $5.2 billion for enforcement activities. As public trust in the IRS wanes, maintaining these amounts is essential to allowing the agency to pursue wealthy tax scofflaws and protect taxpayer dollars from fraud.

"The strength of IRS enforcement activities must be a priority for Congress, especially considering the additional measures Congress enacted under the CARES Act to lessen the financial burden of the COVID-19 pandemic," the members write. "Again, we strongly support $12.1 billion for IRS in the final FY 2021 appropriations bill, especially for enforcement."

Recent reports highlight that the IRS disproportionately pursues audits of poorer Americans, including Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients, while ignoring rampant tax fraud by the wealthy.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that increasing the IRS's budget to investigate high-income Americans would more than pay for itself. Specifically, increasing the examinations and collections budget by $20 billion over 10 years increases revenues by $61 billion, and if it is raised by $40 billion over 10 years it would increase revenues by $103 billion.

Chairman Pascrell has been one of the foremost critics in Congress of the IRS's politicization under Donald Trump. On October 13, Pascrell convened a hearing on tax fairness that highlighted the IRS's illegal withholding of Donald Trump's tax returns from Congress for a year and a half. On November 20, Pascrell convened another hearing to question IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on this issue as well as on IRS funding, audit fairness and delayed delivery of Economic Impact Payment and tax refund issues.

The letter is signed by Reps. Chu, Pascrell, Don Beyer (D-VA-08), John Larson (D-CT-01), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA- 20), Peter DeFazio (D-OR-04), Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Jackie Speier (D-CA-14), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35), Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Mark Takano (D-CA-41), Brian Higgins (D-NY-26), Dan Kildee (D-MI-05), and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01).

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