86,852 NEW IRS EMPLOYEES

You’ve probably heard Republicans say the Inflation Reduction Act — the massive spending bill just passed by Senate Democrats — includes provisions to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents. The number seems too big too believe. The IRS has just 93,654 employees, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Why would Congress, in one bill, increase the IRS workforce by something like 92%? It doesn’t seem possible. It certainly doesn’t seem wise.

It’s not wise, but it is possible. And that is what 50 Senate Democrats, along with tie-breaking Vice President Kamala Harris, did when they passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which gives roughly $80 billion to the IRS between now and 2031. (The name, “Inflation Reduction Act,” was a ruse to convince gullible voters that Democrats are actually doing something about inflation; the bill itself is made up of expensive climate measures, plus prescription drug provisions, tax increases and the initiative to increase IRS enforcement.)

The Inflation Reduction Act is the slimmed-down version of the even more massive Build Back Better bill, which failed earlier this year due to the opposition of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. We know a lot about the IRS provisions of the new bill because the same provisions were in Build Back Better, which the administration extensively promoted. That’s where the 87,000 figure came from. In May 2021, the Treasury Department produced a 22-page analysis of Build Back Better, and in supporting tables, the document said the bill would add 86,852 FTEs, or full-time equivalent employees, to the IRS between now and the year 2031. Do a little rounding, and there’s the 87,000.