A recent report from the Washington Free Beacon reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to hire 30,000 new employees over the next two years. This massive expansion comes as the Biden administration increases its focus on tax enforcement, particularly on middle-class and small business owners. While the purported aim is to crack down on tax evasion, there is a growing concern that this initiative is a further weaponization of the IRS against average Americans.
As the IRS ramps up its staffing, critics argue that this aggressive move will only lead to more invasive audits and harassment of law-abiding citizens. After all, history has shown that the IRS has been used as a political weapon. The targeting of conservative groups during the Obama administration, for example, raises questions about the potential for future misuse of power.
President Biden’s army of 87,000 new IRS agents will target our families, farmers, and small businesses.
That’s why @HouseGOP voted to DEFUND this reckless IRS expansion. We will continue to protect hardworking taxpayers from Biden’s overreaching agenda.https://t.co/ruxE0la1cH
— Rep. Randy Feenstra (@RepFeenstra) April 7, 2023
Moreover, the Biden administration’s emphasis on tax enforcement has been met with skepticism from conservatives, who argue that the focus should be cutting spending and lowering taxes rather than cracking down on taxpayers. This stance is supported by organizations like the Tax Foundation, which has pointed out that most unpaid taxes come from underreporting by individuals rather than deliberate tax evasion. By increasing the size of the IRS, the government risks targeting innocent Americans who make mistakes on their tax returns rather than addressing the root of the problem.
Hiring thousands of new IRS employees also presents a potential risk to the privacy of American citizens. With an increased workforce, the IRS can collect and process more taxpayer data. This increased access to personal information could lead to potential breaches of privacy, as well as the risk of identity theft. Given the numerous data breaches that have occurred in recent years, it is not unreasonable to be concerned about the security of personal information in the hands of an expanding federal agency.
Proponents of the expansion argue that it is necessary to close the so-called “tax gap,” which is the difference between the taxes owed and taxes paid. However, many conservative voices point out that the size of the tax gap is often overstated, with estimates ranging from $100 billion to $1 trillion annually. With such a wide range of estimates, it is difficult to justify such an aggressive expansion of the IRS without a clearer understanding of the problem.
The Biden administration’s push to expand the IRS is troubling for ordinary Americans. The potential for misuse of power, invasion of privacy, and targeting of innocent taxpayers should not be taken lightly. Rather than expanding the government’s reach into the lives of hard-working citizens, efforts should be made to streamline tax policies and lower the burden on taxpayers.
