10.17.23

Proposed Cuts to IRS Enforcement Would Add $24 Billion to Deficit, CBO Finds

Chairman Whitehouse slams Republicans’ continued efforts to defund the agency’s ability to go after wealthy tax cheats

Washington, D.C.—The latest Republican effort to defund Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax enforcement would increase the deficit by $24 billion, finds the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in a new analysis provided to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

In an amendment that the Senate may soon consider to the minibus appropriations bill, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) proposes cutting more than $25 billion from the IRS, a move that would help large corporations and the wealthy continue to avoid paying taxes that they legally owe.  Stripping the IRS of this funding would reduce federal revenues by $49 billion over the next 10 years. 

“Republicans’ priority always seems to be protecting big, tax-dodging donors. They try to jam these cuts into any bill they can,” said Chairman Whitehouse. “Their repeated efforts, which would drive up the deficit, show for whom Republicans are really fighting. When push comes to shove, they are always out to protect mega-donors who don’t want to pay what they owe, deficit be damned.” 

The text of CBO’s letter to Chairman Whitehouse can be found here.