President Biden’s budget proposal is set to give the IRS an additional $43 billion over the next decade.
The money is on top of the $80 billion in new funding for the agency included in Mr. Biden’s $739 billion climate change and tax law last year.
“After Democrats handed the IRS an $80 billion raise last year, taxpayers are now asked in this budget to hand the IRS another $43.2 billion,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, Missouri Republican.
Mr. Biden’s $6.8 trillion budget requests $1.8 billion for the IRS, boosting the agency’s overall funding to $14.1 billion. The additional revenue would account for a 15% boost from the more than $12 billion that Congress approved for the agency in December.
The White House’s budget includes $290 million in new funding to modernize the tax processing infrastructure at the IRS. Senate Republicans forced Mr. Biden to strip that money from last year’s government funding bill.
GOP lawmakers say the additional funding is a nonstarter, given the IRS has not proved it can manage the funds it’s already set to receive.
“After a two-year inflation crisis that has cost American workers more than two months of pay, families need every penny they can get,” said Mr. Smith. “But they can’t even get their own refunds back because of the historic backlog at the IRS.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress the IRS would present in detail how it plans to use the $80 billion in Mr. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The agency would also argue why it needs additional funding as proposed by the White House.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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