IRS audits of low-income families exceed those of millionaires

Despite accounting for one-sixth of the country’s total household income, millionaires in the U.S. are currently audited less than 1% of the time

WASHINGTON – Low-income families in the U.S. were audited more heavily than millionaires by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during Donald Trump’s final year in office.

An analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) found that this shift in audit focus was due to several budget cuts pushed through by Republicans, leaving IRS underfunded and understaffed.

As a result, processing complicated tax returns from the wealthy has become more challenging.

Analysis shows that audits of millionaires have declined by 92% over the past decade.

Despite accounting for one-sixth of the country’s total household income, millionaires in the U.S. are currently audited less than 1% of the time.

Because of this lax oversight, data from the IRS suggests that more than one million wealthy Americans have evaded taxes totaling nearly $66 billion.

To counter the damaging effects of chronic underfunding, the Democratic Party, with the support of President Joe Biden, has approved an $80 billion budget increase for IRS over the next decade.

The Republican Party has actively sought to reverse the budget increase while expressing concerns about IRS ‘ intentions.

They have introduced proposals in the House of Representatives to cut the IRS budget by $67 billion.

With government funding on the line, the House and Senate are under pressure to pass appropriations bills to prevent a potential shutdown.

David Kass, ATF’s executive director, expressed concern about the push by some Republicans to protect the wealthy from paying their fair share.