House Republicans’ plans to repeal billions of dollars of funding for the Internal Revenue Service would boost the U.S.’s red ink by more than $100 billion over the next decade, a budget watchdog estimated Monday, as the GOP was gearing up to vote on the measure.
A vote could come as early as Monday night on a measure that takes aim at $80 billion in extra funding for the IRS that was included in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — their big climate, healthcare and tax package. The vote could follow action on a package of rules for the new session of Congress — to which which some Republicans have voiced opposition.
The aim of the extra money for the IRS is to expand support for the agency’s operations, modernize its systems, improve customer service, and strengthen tax enforcement, as the Committee for a Responsible Budget summarized in a new analysis Monday.
Denying the agency the funding, says the CRFB, would increase deficits by well over $100 billion over a decade, including $30 billion in 2031 alone.
The IRS measure is one of a few items that House Republicans are prioritizing as they get down to business in the new Congress. Because Democrats control the Senate, however, it won’t pass that chamber, so the bill is largely symbolic.
Still, campaigning against the IRS featured heavily in Republicans’ midterm election pitches, with candidates warning that Democrats’ legislation will empower about 87,000 new agents to target middle-income Americans. That figure has been dubbed misleading, however, by fact-checkers including the Associated Press, which noted many hires will be used to replace some 50,000 IRS employee retirements in coming years. Others will become customer service representatives answering taxpayer phone calls.
