WASHINGTON
– Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), former
chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a current member of the
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, today announced that they intend to
introduce legislation that responds to the Democrats’ use of the so-called
“Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) to infuse $80 billion of new funding into the
IRS’s budget. The legislation, which is still being finalized, will be
introduced when the Senate returns to session later this month. It would give
Congress a direct say in how this new funding could be spent, hold the IRS more
accountable, and provide more transparency for the American people.
“Government,
especially when it comes to the treatment of taxpayers, needs to be accountable
and transparent to the American people,” said Grassley. “When
Democrats’ partisan spending bill gave the IRS an extra 80 billion dollars,
their legislation included no oversight mechanisms whatsoever. Our bill will
ensure that the IRS is answerable to the American people in how it uses this
money, and will force it to forfeit funds every day it’s not in compliance.”
“The
Democrats’ attempt to supersize the IRS without holding the agency
accountable to Congress and American taxpayers is dangerous and irresponsible,”
said Thune. “This legislation would provide much-needed oversight of the
unprecedented $80 billion in new funding to the agency, more than half of which
Democrats have directed toward enforcement-related measures, including audits. If
our bill becomes law, the Biden administration’s IRS would have to answer
to the American people, not Washington bureaucrats.”
The
senators’ legislation would, among other things, require the IRS to provide
Congress with an annual plan for how the agency intends to use the new IRA
funds, which would be subject to a new joint resolution of disapproval. The
bill would also require quarterly updates from the IRS and U.S. Department of
Treasury to enable consistent and transparent evaluation of the plans, provide
accountability for any misuse of funds, and guard against violations of
taxpayer rights. Failure to submit timely and thorough plans or reports would
result in financial penalties, including IRA funds being rescinded on a daily
basis until the IRS complies with the reporting requirements.
The
legislation is supported by the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax
Reform, and Americans for Prosperity. The full bill text will be available upon
the formal introduction of the legislation.
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