Janet Yellen: ‘A Strong IRS Is Critical To The Economic Success Of This Country’ | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ben Zeisloft.

    Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lauded the Biden administration's efforts to provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with an $80 billion raise.

    The Inflation Reduction Act provides funds to hire 87,000 new IRS employees over the next decade - more than doubling the agency's size. During a Thursday speech at the New Carrollton Federal Building in Maryland, Yellen remarked that "adequately funding the IRS is core to our success."

    "It raises the revenue for us to make important investments in our economic strength," she said. "It makes sure that all Americans are playing by the same rules. It avoids misallocation of resources in the economy at large. And it does so by deterring taxpayers from shifting their activities toward more opaque sources or engaging in tax evasion."

    Yellen repeated her promise that the new funding will not be directed to increase audits for Americans households earning less than $400,000 per year "relative to historical levels." However, she failed to clarify that "historical levels" of audits were far higher as recently as one decade ago. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, audit rates for Americans earning between $25,000 and $200,000 fell 76% between 2010 and 2019, while those earning less than $25,000 saw audit rates fall by 61%.

    "In all, a strong IRS is critical to the economic success of this country - and I am heartened that we are finally reflecting that in our funding decisions," Yellen added.

    A report from the Congressional Budget Office based on an earlier proposal to hire 87,000 new agents found that audit rates "would rise for all taxpayers," even as higher-income taxpayers "face the largest increase." According to Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee, the new agents would be capable of carrying out 1.2 million more individual audits per year, with nearly half impacting Americans earning less than $75,000.

    Noting that the average American takes 13 hours to file a tax return, Yellen said that many of the new resources will exist to decrease wait times and facilitate access to IRS services. Beyond increasing the number of staff available to answer phones, Yellen emphasized in-person help centers. "By next year, every single center will be fully staffed," she said. "As a result, we will triple the number of Americans served at these centers."

    Yellen also discussed the need to make "sure that everyone pays their fair share" - observing that wealthy Americans were estimated to have underpaid their taxes by $160 billion in 2019. Accessing the funds would allow for higher levels of investment in government programs.

    The economic agenda of President Joe Biden has indeed hinged upon the creation of new federal initiatives and a higher degree of government intervention into the economy. A handbook recently published by the White House emphasized the administration's legislative victories and claimed that they are responsible for a purported economic recovery.

    "President Biden's agenda has contributed to the strongest and most equitable economic and labor market recovery in modern history, and catalyzed a resurgence in public investment that will help ensure a strong, innovative, clean energy future that is made in America," the report said. "Together with generational investments in infrastructure, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing, the Biden economic agenda has coupled historic job creation with a long-term strategy to ensure that good jobs of today and tomorrow are created in America."

poll#162

In what may be the most divisive period in modern American History, even more divisive than the turbulent sixties due to today's lack of patriotism, consider what are the major catalysts causing so much of this calamity of conflict, and vote: What most instigates the division of America, on this day September 20, 2022?

  Racism within our society

  Sex realignment to the detriment of our society.

  Biden /Harris Wide Open Southern Border Policy for the Demographic Upheaval of OUR Constitutional Republic

  Rampant Crime in Democratic controlled cities, and the possible contagion elsewhere

  Covid Pandemic, and its mishandling at the political, and bureaucratic levels.

  The unresolved questions /allegation regarding the flawed 2020 General Election

  January 6th Riot or "Armed Insurrection", depending upon patriotic perspective

  Joe Biden as Divisive Leader; Ineffective and Corrupt Executive

  Failed Education Industry, from an overall perspective, regarding all levels of education.

  Propagandistic Media in complete conflict with the First Amendment's guarantee of Freedom of Speech, and the awesome responsibility of a Free Press..

  "Orangeman Bad!"

  Bureaucracy rushing to a behemoth size, its unjustified expense, and far too often overreach.

  The Weaponized Deep State for political purposes

  A secular ambivalence to all that is real.

  Record number of overdose deaths from opioids and now Fentanyl

  Biden Administration's disastrous Foreign Policy

  Bidenflation /supply chain failure inevitably evolving into stagflation and recession.

  "Ultra MAGA Extremists" freely speaking louder AND LOUDER!

927 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#154

Inarguably, the policies of the Democrats in congress and Joe Biden as the Executive is plunging the United States into a recession, if we are not already there; a recession that was completely avoidable. Will abrupt changes in policies occur in time?

  Yes, the Democrats have a bold plan, yet to be revealed, to save us.

  No, there will have to be a complete undoing of the damage done by these Democrats.

  I can't do simple math, so how am I to understand the concept of basic economics.

1,216 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?