87,000 reasons to lower taxes

The Federal government just gave American citizens 87,000 reasons to lower taxes. The Inflation Reduction Act includes funding [View this message in your browser]( Friend, The Federal government just gave American citizens 87,000 reasons to lower taxes. The Inflation Reduction Act includes funding sufficient for the IRS to hire up to 87,000 employees. What will they be doing? Unfortunately, we have some troubling clues. More than half of the $80 billion the IRS just got in the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” will go toward “enforcement activities.” Barely 10% will go to “taxpayer services” and “business systems modernization” – two areas in dire need of improvement. That means however many new hires the IRS makes, the majority of them are likely to fill out an army of auditors, lawyers, data miners, and even criminal investigators. Critical people to answer phones, assist taxpayers in person, and better manage the tax filing seasons will come second. Let me introduce myself. My name is Pete Sepp, President of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). Our mission is to lobby for practical policy wins that improve the lives of taxpayers. The Biden administration claims these new agents will only go after large corporations and “wealthy tax dodgers.” In my 34 years of working on IRS reform issues, I’ve seen these kinds of claims before … which is why I am worried now for all taxpaying Americans. It’s called the IRS Poverty Cycle. The IRS pleads poverty. Congress wants “easy revenues” to reduce the deficit without actually cutting wasteful spending, The IRS promises to behave if its budget gets boosted, Congress obliges and then … things start to go off the rails. Things start to go off the rails! Wealthier taxpayers use their resources to fight back, and the tax collections Congress wanted to raise from a bigger IRS budget start to lag. Tactics developed against “the rich” in audits and in courts filter down into the IRS bureaucracy and are eventually used against small businesses and the middle class. Money intended for one purpose gets spent on another, and no one finds out in time to stop it. [NTU is working to end this cycle for good. Can you donate $25, $50, or even $100 to help NTU challenge the IRS? Click here to donate ]( Treasury Secretary Yellen has told the IRS Commissioner to avoid auditing middle-income taxpayers and small businesses with this new money, “relative to historic levels.” Of course, this directive has plenty of leeway – what if the IRS simply uses existing annual appropriations to target everyday taxpayers instead? The Secretary also wants a detailed plan from the IRS on how they will spend the money – what good is the plan if Congress won’t oversee it, which it often fails to do? According to the IRS’s own statistics, the most efficient use of IRS funds is to go after low-income taxpayers. It’s hard to break a habit like that. If the Biden administration really cared about helping taxpayers, they would simplify the tax code and focus first on improving customer service at the IRS. But, sadly, that wasn’t the motive behind the Inflation Reduction Act. President Biden and his allies wanted to paper over their deficit spending with “cheap and easy” revenue, by beefing up IRS enforcement. It’s actually not cheap, nor is it easy. Taxpayers bear the losses, both to their finances and their rights. [But your support helps NTU lobby members of Congress to put sensible safeguards on the powers of the IRS. Please consider donating $25, $50, $100, or any amount today. Click here to give ]( A RECORD OF DEFEATING THE IRS Since 1969, NTU has proudly been a major player in signature taxpayer victories of the past five decades. We were there when President Reagan overhauled the federal tax code. We championed the cause for a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” and the 2019 Taxpayer First Act. We were also the driving force behind the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We were there in 1998 when we served on the commission that overhauled the IRS. We have experience that no one else has. And, for the last two years in a row, NTUF’s Taxpayer Defense Center handed the IRS two unanimous defeats in the Supreme Court! The federal government backs the IRS. So who is working for you? The answer is the National Taxpayers Union. Can I count on your support in our mission to defend taxpayers against an overzealous IRS? Click below to donate. [Donate $10 >>]( [Donate $35 >>]( [Donate $50 >>]( [Donate $100 >>]( [Donate $250 >>]( [Donate $500 >>]( [Donate $1,000 >>]( [Donate $2,500 >>]( [Donate Any Amount >>]( Thank you, Pete Sepp President National Taxpayers Union NTU is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen group whose members work every day for lower taxes and smaller government at all levels. If {EMAIL} should not be subscribed or if you need to change your subscription information for Pro Life Update, [please use this preferences page](. 625 First Street #183, Alexandria, VA 22314