Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the Biden administration over its decision to expand the IRS.
According to DeSantis, the IRS expansion was the administration’s way of giving Americans “the middle finger.”
In the statement released by the Florida governor during a press conference on Wednesday about teacher recruitment, he claimed that “the Democrats’ legislation will result in Washington going after you.”
“Of all the things that have come out of Washington that have been outrageous, this has got to be pretty close to the top. I think it was basically just the middle finger to the American public, that this is what they think of you.” DeSantis said.
On Tuesday night, US President Joe Biden signed a climate and healthcare spending bill into law. The law also includes $80 billion to overhaul the IRS.
In a news report released by New York Post, it was revealed that “the earmarks of the bill would allow the service to hire roughly 87,000 new agents, essentially doubling its size.”
Just recently, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen released the letter she wrote, outlining that the “$80 billion in funding the IRS is set to receive would not be used to bolster the agency’s auditing of middle-income earners and small businesses.”
“Specifically. I direct that any additional resources including any new personnel or auditors that are hired shall not be used to increase the share of small businesses or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels.” Yellen wrote.
“This means that, contrary to the misinformation from opponents of this legislation, small businesses or households earning $400,000 per year or less will not see an increase in the chances that they are audited,” Yellen added.
However, DeSantis blasted the decision and warned that the expansion won’t actually go after billionaires.
“They are going to go after independent contractors. They’re going to go after small business people. They’re going to go after someone that may be driving an Uber or a handyman or all these things. Why would they do that? Because you’re not going to be able to contend with the audit, so they’re going to crush a lot of people by doing that.” DeSantis lamented.
Moreover, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig also released a statement, saying that the new resources will permit the agency to provide additional services to taxpayers.
“The IRS has struggled for many years with insufficient resources to fulfill our important mission. During the next 10 years, these funds will help us in many areas, including adding critical resources to not just close the tax gap but meaningfully improve taxpayer service and technology.” Rettig argued.
Two weeks ago, the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act in a 220-207 vote.
According to the CBO, the “estimate of the deficit reduction [for the Build Back Better Act] was lowered by $11 billion over the 2022-2031 period.”
DeSantis’ statement came after he blasted IRS investigators following the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida.
“The raid of MAL [Mar-a-Lago] is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.” The Florida governor tweeted on Aug. 8.
