Investing in the IRS is Investing in America
It seems unlikely that anyone particularly “likes” paying taxes. Most Americans do, however, like health care, a strong military to protect and defend our interests, and Social Security – the three top budget items our federal tax dollars are spent on – not to mention the myriad other services Americans receive for their tax payments. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is regrettably no stranger to abuse from Capitol Hill, and the agency’s budget and staffing have declined for many years as a result. The negative rhetoric against the IRS from many elected leaders in DC has ramped up in recent weeks since the inclusion of $80 billion over ten years to help the agency enforce the nation’s tax laws. We’ve seen calls to defund or abolish the IRS, messages imploring people to not accept IRS jobs, and even threats to IRS employees. This is misguided, dangerous, and unacceptable.
IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig admirably dispelled the many mistruths in the vitriolic attacks against the agency. He wrote that audit rates would maintain the Treasury directive current levels for “households making under $400,000.” Rather, the new hires will be “those who answer the phones, work on processing individual tax returns or go after high-end taxpayers or corporations who are avoiding their taxes.” Statistics from the Government Accountability Office demonstrate the clear needs in those areas. The IRS has lost roughly 13 percent of its staff since 2012. Its budget has diminished by 15 percent in that time.
We’ve often heard that agencies should “do more with less.” When the IRS does not have the resources and staff it needs to do its job, law-abiding citizens are harmed multiple ways. They see delays in receiving their tax returns and long wait times because there aren’t enough people to answer their calls. And when the IRS cannot enforce the nation’s tax laws it results in billions of dollars uncollected.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the annual gross tax gap, the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount collected each year, was $441 billion, on average, between 2011 and 2013. IRS enforcement closed that gap by $60 billion, resulting in a net tax gap of $381 billion for that period. Yet there was a 30 percent decline in the number of IRS employees in enforcement roles between 2010 and 2018. Former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen famously referred to the reductions in enforcement personnel as “a tax cut for tax cheats.” Every law-abiding tax paying citizen should want an effective IRS that has the tools to go after tax cheats.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) pointed out the IRS is at a high risk of skills gaps due to high attrition rates. IRS Commissioner Rettig recently said the agency loses 10,000 employees per year and expects “more than 50,000” IRS employees will retire in the next few years. The IRS states it takes four-to-five years to train a new hire to become an experienced senior or expert revenue officer. Why is this important? Almost 85 percent “of all successful fraud referrals came from revenue officers at the senior/expert skill level.” The bottom line is the IRS needs to hire and retain good workers, and a lot of them.
The late Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) spoke at one of his last congressional hearings about the need for agencies and departments to fight for the resources they need: “It just drives me crazy that more departments don’t really stand up and start raising you know what when we don’t give you resources you need to get the job done, particularly in management,” Voinovich said. “There seems to be a lack of appreciation in this body for management and the importance of having the right people, with the knowledge and skills at the right time, and having to give them the tools. I think you ought to stand up and fight and not get rolled. Make a big deal out of it. Get the president involved. If I’m going to get the job done, I’ve got to have the tools to get that job done.”
Senator Voinovich’s prescient words continue to ring true, and the funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act for the IRS will help the agency perform its congressionally-mandated mission far more effectively. This will benefit all Americans. The Federal Managers Association will continue to do its part to voice its members’ concerns and demand the resources to allow them to best serve the American public.
If you are not already a member of FMA, please consider becoming a member.
The views reflected in this column are those of FMA and do not necessarily represent the views of FEDmanager. To learn more about the Federal Managers Association (FMA), visit their website: FedManagers.org.