On the recordFebruary 2, 2022
reserving the right to object, I certainly agree with the proposition that was advanced by my colleague to improve service at the Internal Revenue Service. The fact, however, is the effect of this proposal is to demean IRS workers and distract from the real challenges facing the IRS. And the real challenge can be embodied by the fact that, for years and years, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been squeezing and downsizing critical enforcement services at the IRS to the point where the wealthy cheats basically can get a free ride. They can get a free ride. About the other day, in the context of talking about tax cheats and wealthy partnerships that aren't getting audited, I said the chance that they are going to be subject to real enforcement, when they are a wealthy tax cheat, is about the same likelihood of being hit by a meteor, and it is because of these policies that have been downsizing resources at the IRS to deal with these wealthy tax cheats for years. Now, Commissioner Rettig, who is a Trump appointee--an appointee of former President Trump--recently said there are fewer auditors to deal with these wealthy tax cheats today than at any point since World War II. So they have got that challenge, and then they have an enormous IT challenge because the IRS, by their admission, is still using some systems that are practically dated back to the Dark Ages.…





