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Ten Democratic senators, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), sent a letter warning the administration that its deep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would overburden working and middle-class Americans with audits while helping big businesses and the ultra-wealthy get away with cheating on their taxes.
In the letter, the senators noted that recent cuts have slashed the IRS’s resources and driven away more than a quarter of the revenue agents who specialize in tax enforcement of wealthy individuals and large businesses.
“We know what happens when the IRS’s enforcement budget is cut,” the senators wrote. “When the IRS’s budget was slashed between 2010 and 2021, and the number of enforcement staff fell by roughly 30 percent, audit rates for millionaires dropped by 77 percent and audit rates for large corporations were cut roughly in half.”
Separately, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on Monday released a memorandum outlining concerns about the IRS’s readiness for the 2026 filing season. Citing staffing reductions, growing inventories and incomplete modernization efforts, TIGTA warns the filing season could be challenging. TIGTA further warns that reductions in the number of open Taxpayer Assistance Centers could result in fewer taxpayers served. Compounding the problem, the government shutdown in October impeded the IRS’s ability to reduce inventories.
For years, NTEU warned of the impacts of an underfunded and understaffed IRS on taxpayer service and compliance. We continue to advocate for the staffing and funding the agency needs to meet its crucial mission.