On January 9, Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) introduced the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act (H.R. 23), legislation that would claw back most of the $71 billion Congress provided the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the next 10 years. The House then passed the bill, also on January 9, by a vote of 221-210. H.R. 23 is not expected to advance any further in the legislative process in the 118th Congress.

FMA supported the inclusion of the funding for the IRS as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. While many legislators expressed concern about the resources provided to the IRS, then-Commissioner Charles P. Rettig wrote that IRS audit rates would maintain the Treasury directive current levels for “households making under $400,000.” The new hires the IRS sought were “those who answer the phones, work on processing individual tax returns or go after high-end taxpayers or corporations who are avoiding their taxes.” As we wrote in a ‘Hear it from FMA’ article in September 2022, “statistics from the Government Accountability Office demonstrate the clear need in those areas. The IRS has lost roughly 13 percent of its staff since 2012. Its budget has diminished by 15 percent in that time.”

The Congressional Budget Office found H.R. 23 would “decrease outlays by $71 billion and decrease receipts by $186 billion over the 2023-2032 period,” a net loss of $115 billion.

It is unlikely the Senate will consider H.R. 23, and the Biden Administration expressed strong opposition to the bill in a Statement of Administration Policy, noting he would veto the bill if it arrived on his desk.