IRS Targeting Middle-Income Earners for Mass Audits Despite Promises to Focus on the Rich

The IRS is under fire for using a new army of tax collectors to conduct mass audits of middle-income earners, despite promises from Democrats that additional resources would only be used to target the rich. Senator Elizabeth Warren celebrated the agency’s collection of over $1 billion in taxes from high-wealth taxpayers, but a columnist pointed out that two-thirds of IRS audits initiated last year were on taxpayers making less than $200,000.

The Wall Street Journal reported that 63 percent of new government inquiries were to middle-income earners making less than $200,000, with only a small share reaching the highest earners. Congress beefed up the IRS with 86,000 new tax collectors in the 2022 “Inflation Reduction Act,” but questions remain about how the agency will ensure audits are not unfairly targeting lower-income Americans.

Despite assurances from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that households earning $400,000 or less would not see an increase in audits, reports show that the IRS continues to target middle- and lower-income Americans for the majority of audits. A report from Syracuse University revealed that the IRS already audits the poorest Americans at a rate five times higher than other Americans.

The expansion of the IRS was meant to empower the agency, but critics argue that it is disproportionately targeting middle- and lower-income Americans. With nearly 100,000 new auditors on board, the chances of being audited have increased for everyone, raising concerns about fairness and transparency in the tax collection process.