Properly funding the IRS is a worthwhile investment

A report from the Government Accountability Office found that on average, each audit of a household earning more than $10 million resulted in the IRS finding $359,432 in unpaid taxes.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told Congress his agency has increased audits of high-income individuals, as well as improved customer services and support, thanks to increased funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes while almost 5 billion people globally have become poorer, according to a recent report from Oxfam.

At current rates, the report notes, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years.

Oxfam connects this wealth inequality to corporate power that goes largely unchecked, including through the tax code.

Republicans, who often gripe about budgets deficits although they added $8 trillion to the national debt during disgraced former President Donald Trump’s tenure, bitterly opposed legislation funding additional IRS staff assigned to collect unpaid taxes from wealthy Americans.