IRS Funding Cuts Hurt Taxpayers
Trying to save money, the federal government is cutting funding for the IRS. The result may be a loss of revenues costing taxpayers untold billions. By the end of Fiscal Year 2010, $330 billion dollars in federal taxes will remain uncollected. In context, $330 billion dollars represents nearly 9 times the projected savings of the recently agreed upon budget. However, in the recent budget agreement, lawmakers decided that no additional funds would be used to hire new IRS agents.
Although there is evidence that for every dollar spent on enforcing the tax code the investment results in up to ten dollars of revenue for the government. Politicians, fearing to align themselves with the tax man, have shown reluctance in supporting funding for additional IRS agents.
The idea is particularly troublesome in that the federal deficit continues to mount and broader compliance of the already existing tax code would help relieve the burden of an exploding deficit. Egan Young’s recent case is a prime example of the need for a strong IRS. An anonymous Whistleblower client of Egan Young received the very first mandatory tax fraud reward under the 2006 IRS Whistleblower rules. The program which had been in place since the end of 2006, had taken nearly five years to distribute its first mandatory reward. The IRS acting on the tip of the Whistleblower, and the advocacy of attorney Eric Young, netted in excess of $20 million in unpaid federal taxes. This recent case highlights the need for a strong IRS. $20 million from one case represents near 2/3 of the savings the federal government cut in its recent budget negotiations. The addition of IRS agents, resources for the whistleblower office, and increased investment in IRS infrastructure would be a nearly 10 to 1 investment in paying down the exploding federal deficit.