Rich Neal: “I include in the Record an op-ed piece from the former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, a Republican, titled: ``IRS sets…”

“I include in the Record an op-ed piece from the former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, a Republican, titled: ``IRS sets the record straight: We're going after tax evaders, not honest Americans.'' [From Yahoo! Finance, Aug. 25, 2022] IRS Sets the Record Straight: We're Going After Tax Evaders, Not Honest Americans: Op-Ed (By Charles P. Rettig) As the nation's tax administrator, the IRS plays a unique role in our nation. It can be a difficult job. After all, does anyone really like paying taxes? Of course not. But they're essential to fund the roads we drive on, the schools our children attend, support our military and so much more. Unfortunately, given the nature of this work and historical stereotypes, the IRS is often perceived as an easy target for mischaracterizations of what IRS employees do--and that's exactly what's happened in recent weeks. The recent debate over providing badly needed funding to the IRS is filled with outright false suggestions about what the agency and our hardworking employees do--as well as how the additional resources will be handled. The bottom line is this: These resources are absolutely not about increasing audit scrutiny on small business or middle- income Americans. The investment of these important resources is designed to support honest, compliant taxpayers. Our investment is designed around a Treasury directive that audit rates do not rise relative to recent years for households making under $400,000.…”