August 11,2022

Crapo Statement on Protecting Taxpayers Earning Under $400,000 from Increased IRS Scrutiny

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) issued the following statement on increased funding for the IRS included in the “Inflation Reduction Act,” and his amendment to protect small businesses and middle-class taxpayers from increased audits.  

“It’s clear that the President, the IRS, and the Secretary of Treasury are scrambling to protest that they are not going to increase audits on people making less than $400,000.  However, when given the opportunity to vote on the Senate floor and put into binding statute that increased funds could not be used to increase audits on those making less than $400,000 per year, every single Democratic senator voted no.  When I offered my amendment to simply make it clear that the $80 billion being given to the IRS--six times its current annual budget--could not be utilized to audit people making less than $400,000, the most they would agree to was to say they did not ‘intend’ to audit them.  That’s because they know from the analysis of the Joint Committee on Taxation that most underreported income occurs among taxpayers earning less than $200,000 per year, and from the Congressional Budget Office that they cannot collect the $200 billion they are claiming without auditing people making less than $400,000.  If they truly do not intend to audit anyone making less than $400,000, then they would have supported my amendment, turning ‘intent’ into binding statute.” 

On August 7, Senator Crapo offered an amendment during consideration of the “Inflation Reduction Act” to prevent the IRS from using any of the $80 billion of funding for audits on individuals and small businesses with taxable incomes below $400,000.  Senate Democrats rejected the amendment along party lines, 50-50.