Trump Admin’s Assault on the IRS Will Put Billions Back into the Pockets of Wealthy Tax Cheats This Year

Trump Admin’s Assault on the IRS Will Put Billions Back into the Pockets of Wealthy Tax Cheats This Year

The Washington Post reported today that the Trump Administration’s “demolition” of the IRS would put billions back into the pockets of ultra-wealthy tax cheats this year and defund taxpayer services. Groundwork Collaborative’s Senior Advisor for Economic Policy Emily DiVito reacted with the following statement:

“Trump is gifting his billionaire donors and wealthy CEOs with a free pass to cheat on their taxes. As a result, working-class taxpayers will have to wait longer for their refunds. This is a huge blow to families counting on a timely refund as grocery bills and rent payments continue to climb.”

Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with a Groundwork expert about the Trump administration’s attacks on the IRS and what that means for taxpayers.

BACKGROUND

• Treasury and IRS officials predict a 10% decrease in tax receipts this year, in part due to white-collar enforcement cuts.
• Last week, the Yale Budget Lab estimated that Trump’s IRS cuts could allow ultra-wealthy tax cheats to keep an extra $2.4T over 10 years.
• Every extra $1 spent on auditing the top 0.1% of earners returns more than $26 to taxpayers each year in revenue. The IRS recovered over $1 billion in unpaid taxes from the ultra-wealthy thanks to expanded enforcement capacity from the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Earlier this week, it was also reported that the administration plans to cut 25% of the Taxpayer Advocate Service and 30% of the team running the IRS’s free Direct File tool.
• Biden-era investments in the IRS drastically modernized the agency for everyday taxpayers, cutting down customer service wait times from 28 minutes to just 3 minutes, allowing the agency to help more than 100,000 taxpayers file their returns in person, and, most notably, providing millions of Americans with a free and secure option to file their taxes.
• Seven former IRS commissioners from both Democratic and Republican administrations condemned the Trump administration’s assault on the IRS, calling it a “huge mistake” as these workers took care of compliance, customer service, and modernization efforts.