Democrats are Turbo-Charging the IRS to go after the Middle Class

The reconciliation package proposed by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Chuck Schumer of New York includes $80 billion in new funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that will allow the agency to set its sights on middle-class Americans.

Increases in IRS funding are laid out in Section 10301 of the 725 page “Inflation Reduction Act,” and the lion’s share of the funding — $45.6 billion — is earmarked for “enforcement,” including “litigation,” “criminal investigations,” “investigative technology,” and “digital asset monitoring.” Proponents argue that the funding will allow the IRS to bring in more than $200 billion in additional revenue from those under-reporting income, but skeptics like The Wall Street Journal editorial board argue that much of this funding will come straight out of middle-class and upper middle-class Americans’ wallets “because that’s where the money is.”

Taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes below $75,000 would ultimately shoulder an estimated $136 billion of the IRS’ proposed revenue increase within the Manchin-Schumer package, according to estimates that the Heritage Foundation’s senior tax policy analyst, Preston Brashers, shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Between 78% and 90% of the expected returns would come from those making under $200,000 a year, while just 4% to 9% would come from those making upwards of $500,000, according to estimates on a similar proposed funding increase conducted in the past by the Joint Committee on Taxation.

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