Former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lawyer William Henck alleged that much as anticipated by many, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will result in the U.S. government under President Joe Biden targeting middle-income Americans with new audits.
Henck, who was forced out in 2017 after making allegations of internal malfeasance, worked at the IRS for 30 years and disputed the claim made by the administration and it’s allies in the media that the hiring of additional agents made possible by the climate bill deceptively sold as an inflation bill nearly doubling the agency’s budget would bring about increased audits for billionaires and corporations.
“The idea that they’re going to open things up and go after these big billionaires and large corporations is quite frankly bulls–t,” Henck told Fox Business. “It’s not going to happen. They’re going to give themselves bonuses and promotions and really nice conferences.”
“The big corporations and the billionaires are probably sitting back laughing right now,” he continued.
Henck said it was “insane” to double the IRS’s budget and insisted they would go after businesses who can’t afford to hire Washington lobbyists to keep the agency at bay.
“Americans with an annual income of less than $75,000 would be subject to nearly 711,000 new IRS audits under the legislation, according to a House GOP analysis that used historic audit rates. By comparison, individuals making more than $500,000 will receive about 95,000 additional audits as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.” Fox Business reported.
Suggesting there will be “considerable incentive to basically to shake down taxpayers,” Henck explained that the IRS has the advantage because “they have basically unlimited resources and no accountability, whereas a taxpayer has to weigh the cost of accountants, tax lawyers — fighting something in tax court.”
He also said new IRS agents would be assigned less complex cases, which will almost certainly impact small businesses.
“If you own a roofing company, you better count on getting audited because that’s what they’re going to be doing,” the former IRS lawyer said. “They’re going to be going after your car dealerships, roofing companies.”
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig pushed back on concerns that small businesses and middle-income Americans will see more audits, saying “audit rates” would remain the same — meaning more audits, but at the same percentage rate.
“These resources are absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans. As we have been planning, our investment of these enforcement resources is designed around… Treasury[’s] directive that audit rates will not rise relative to recent years for households making under $400,000,” Rettig said, as recounted last week by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Last week, Jean-Pierre was outmaneuvered in a brutal line of questioning from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy that saw her go on the record stating that there will be no new IRS audits on anyone making less than $400,000 after the Treasury Department said 87,000 new agents will be hired.
Biden’s spokesperson would then use the issue to make a political attack on Republicans.
“So this is focused on those who are corporate wealthy tax cheats that Republicans, congressional Republicans wanted to defend,” she said. “That’s who they wanted to defend. They wanted to defend those corporate tax cheats. This is not about that.”
“So, no new audits on those making under $400,000?” Doocy quickly countered, prompting Jean-Pierre to reply, “No.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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