Who is responsible for crippling the IRS? According to House of Representatives Budget Committee 2021 Year-End Report, “Republicans have politically targeted and vilified the [IRS] agency for decades as part of their tax-cut agenda. After Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 and Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House, calls to abolish the IRS became a mainstream Republican talking point. Soon after, the Republican‑controlled Senate held a series of dramatic hearings on alleged abuses by the IRS (later debunked by the Government Accountability Office), followed by a new law limiting the agency’s collection powers and independence.” Overall, funding cuts have led to the elimination of 22 percent of IRS staff.
What can we citizens do about the IRS failures? Push our Congressmen and Senators to give the IRS the attention it deserves and increase its funding. Members of Congress respond to the people that elect them. That’s us. Let’s do it.
Tom Glenn, Writer 