January 17, 2023
Wealthy Americans are a favorite target of the political left. They suspect they do not pay their fair share, and indeed, actually work to evade paying what they should. The many features of the tax code provide opportunities for people, especially the wealthy, to pay less than what their critics think they should pay.
Congressional Democrats last August passed the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act." Among other things, this bill would add 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to search for taxpayer mistakes and evasions.
This $72 billion of taxpayer money would, according to Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA, expand the IRS to the extent that it will have "more agents, or soldiers, than the entire Israeli army." It will definitely more than double the size of the IRS, which currently has 78,661 employees.
And Elon Musk, said to be the world’s richest man, tweeted a picture of a British Redcoat, expressing the irony of it all: "When the country that revolted over taxes hires 87,000 new agents."
CBN News commented: “The Internal Revenue Service dropped the ball on auditing millionaires, according to a new report published by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). Despite calls by Democrats to ramp up scrutiny of high-net-worth individuals’ tax returns, and a legislative push for increased funding for the agency, the likelihood of a millionaire being audited in 2022 was just 1.1 percent.
“Instead, data shows that low-income earners were more than five times more likely to be targeted by the IRS in 2022,” the CBN story continued. “TRAC, a nonpartisan data gathering and distribution organization, was able to obtain the information under a court order through a Freedom of Information Act request.”
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Joe Biden himself claim these agents will target only the wealthy,” CBN wrote. “And congressional Democrats say the money will just be used to restore the IRS to its previous size.”
The Heritage Foundation’s John Cooper showed a chart reflecting the concerns of average Americans. "From 2010-2021, those making less than $200K accounted for the most in additional paid taxes. Those making less than $25K were audited at a higher rate than those making $200K to $500K," he commented.
The House of Representatives new Republican majority passed a bill rescinding the $72 billion for the 87,000 new IRS agents. House Resolution 23, the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act, passed the House on a 221-210 vote along party lines. “This was our very first act of the new Congress, because government should work for you, not against you,” said new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-CA.
America’s government should be small, efficient, and not intrude into the lives of its citizens. The Libertarian Republic published an article in 2015 focused on the “Top 10 Government Agencies We Should Eliminate Immediately.” Citing the size of President George Washington’s cabinet, with only three departments, the article lists the 10 we could close, and why:
* National Security Agency - Perhaps the US governments’ most Orwellian agency, it has many times found itself embroiled in controversy, whether for spying on leaders opposed to the Vietnam war, or collecting the phone records of billions of people.
* Food and Drug Administration - The FDA is given the surreal power of regulating what Americans may eat, drink and medicate themselves with. This creates an environment where citizens are told that they are in fact not the sole deciders of what goes into their own bodies.
* Environmental Protection Agency - The EPA has gone from a small and seemingly necessary regulatory agency to a behemoth which tramples small businesses without regard for economic realities. The EPA has taken the power to arbitrate land disputes and environmental concerns from courts and private citizens, replaced with actions by bureaucrats with no accountability.
* Amtrak - Trains are the transportation choice of the past, yet government keeps investing in them. Higher subsidies are necessary to keep Amtrak running.
* Internal Revenue Service - The IRS has a long history of abusing its power. If taxation is indeed necessary, must there really be an agency which so clearly intrudes into every aspect of our lives when tax filing season approaches?
* Federal Emergency Management Agency - Emergency relief should be left to private organizations like the American Red Cross, which has proven itself time and time again.
* Transportation Security Administration - Americans have been taught that Constitutional rights are suspended if one decides to travel through an airport. There are certainly better and more efficient ways for safety to be ensured.
* Drug Enforcement Administration - The War on Drugs has taken millions of lives and prisoners, and billions of taxpayer dollars. We as free people have a duty to bring an end to the tyranny of the DEA.
* Federal Communications Commission - Freedom of speech is among the most important rights in our Constitution. However, the FCC places barriers upon our rights to engage in and listen to speech of our choice.
* Federal Reserve - Not many Americans truly understand it, yet it silently steals value from Americans’ dollars every day. Since its creation, the dollar has lost 95 percent of its value.
Agree or disagree with this libertarian view, our government is too big.
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