US IRS to Hire 30K New Employees Under $80B Plan

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Facts

  • As 12K employees are expected to retire by 2025, including 4.7K enforcement staff, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Thursday it would hire nearly 30K new employees and deploy new technology over the next two years as part of an $80B investment plan to improve tax enforcement and customer service.1
  • The IRS's Strategic Operating Plan will commit about $8.64B during fiscal years 2023 and 2024, hiring 7,239 new enforcement staff during those years, primarily to audit wealthy Americans and big corporations. However, the plan specifies it won't increase audit rates for those who earn less than $400k a year.2
  • Deputy Treasury Sec. Wally Adeyemo said the IRS will also hire more data scientists than ever before to complement traditional tax attorneys and revenue agents by using new data analytics technology to identify audit targets.3
  • The plans will also see the IRS continue to ramp up customer service hiring after having taken on 5K new staff in recent months to answer telephones, reopen taxpayer assistance centers, and process tax returns, bringing customer service hiring to a total of 13,883 full-time-equivalent staff over the next two years.1
  • Tax experts say that among the IRS's biggest challenges will be recruiting tens of thousands of mid-career accountants, tax lawyers, and other staff capable of handling complex audits amid a tightening labor market.3
  • Revenue generated from this plan — which was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act — will be used to finance programs to combat climate change, curb pharmaceutical prices, and reduce the nation's $30T debt.4

Sources: 1New York Post, 2Reuters, 3Yahoo news and 4FOX News.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Fox news. How do you know when the IRS is lying? When it tells average taxpayers that it won't target them. According to a recent study, households earning less than $25K a year are five times as likely to be audited by the agency than everyone else, and Biden's new beefed-up IRS will continue this trend. This plan ensures that ordinary Americans will see their hard-earned money taken by the government.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Politico. Republicans' concerns are unfounded, as the plan doesn't include a new wave of IRS audits for the average American. The agency has been starved of resources for years, missing out on billions every year due to corporate tax evasion. With the new funding, the IRS will be able to access those missing funds and reinvest them into the country, making this a win-win situation for everyone.