Lawmakers bicker over how to go after tax cheats
By Naomi Jagoda - 05/16/21 11:00 AM EDT
Lawmakers are debating President Biden’s pitches to strengthen tax enforcement against high-income individuals and businesses as Congress considers different ways to pay for infrastructure legislation.
Democrats and Republicans both say they want to narrow the gap between taxes paid and the amount owed, suggesting that going after tax cheats could garner bipartisan support as a potential revenue stream.
But Republicans have become increasingly critical of the details in Biden’s proposal, a sign that hurdles remain to reaching an agreement on enforcement.
“We should pursue bipartisan measures to reduce the tax gap and better enforce our tax laws,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), said at a Senate hearing last week. “But any such effort must strike an appropriate balance between taxpayer responsibilities and taxpayer rights.”
Biden has called for providing the IRS with an additional $80 billion over the next decade to ramp up enforcement, update technology and improve customer service at the agency. He has also proposed requiring banks to include new info on account activity in annual reports to the IRS so that the agency can better target its audits.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/553704-lawmakers-bicker-over-how-to-go-after-tax-cheats