The agency credited the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act for its stepped-up ability to pursue high-income, high-wealth individuals who owe money.

The IRS announced Friday that it has recently collected more than half a billion dollars from millionaire Americans who owed tax debt.

The agency credited the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act for its stepped-up ability to pursue “high-income, high-wealth individuals,” as well as complex partnerships and large corporations, who are not paying overdue tax bills.

The IRA, pushed by President Joe Biden and approved in 2022, earmarked $80 billion over 10 years to step up the IRS’ enforcement capabilities. While $20 billion was ultimately clawed back in 2023 as part of the deal to head off a debt-ceiling crisis, the agency indicated it had already made use of its initial allotment.

Over the past year, the IRS said, enforcement officers had recouped approximately $520 million from the most well-off segments of society.

  • BossDj@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    The Biden administration previously pledged to freeze audit rates for filers with $400,000 or less.

    I hadn’t heard this, but I’m very disillusioned, discouraged and angry right now.

    I’m 40, a teacher, single income (widowed) with two children. I don’t make six figures. But guess who got the IRS on their ass for the first time ever this year?

    Apparently I guessed a line wrong on my 1040 last year in Tax Game. Or Turbo Tax did, because I just feed it all the digital documents I get. IRS let me know I get to redo that form (back to start!) and will probably have to pay back $50 of my refund. GOTTEM!

    Just send me a fucking bill. For 8 billion per year, and you already know what I should pay, just send me a god damned bill. Fuck this.

    • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      They are piloting the “just send a bill” program this year in 12 states thanks to the IRA Biden passed. It’s called Direct file.

      If you live in one of those 12 states and just do the 1040ez, you may literally be able to just have them send you the goddamn bill.

      • poppy@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Participating states The Direct File pilot will be available to eligible participants in these states:

        Arizona

        California

        Florida

        Massachusetts

        Nevada

        New Hampshire

        New York

        South Dakota

        Tennessee

        Texas

        Washington state

        Wyoming

        The pilot is not an option for you if you did not live in one of the 12 participating states in 2023.

        Damn I don’t qualify. I hope it goes well in those states and expands.

        Editing for formatting.

    • Kühe sind toll@feddit.de
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      10 months ago

      And that’s why I like the German system. A part of your your income(income tax) directly goes to our version of the IRS. At the end of the year you can do a tax computation and maybe get taxes back if you payed to much, but you aren’t required to do that.

      • shastaxc@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Yes, it’s the same in the US but sometimes people don’t set it up right so the correct amount is not withheld from their income and they have to pay back the difference at the end of the year. For the majority of people, they get money back from the government. There are lots of sales every year around tax filing time because so many people get a sudden amount of money back from the government.

    • StereoTrespasser@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Being a little hyperbolic, aren’t we? You didn’t get the IRS “on your ass,” your form failed an automated check.

      • BossDj@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        The Biden administration previously pledged to freeze audit rates for filers with $400,000 or less.

        It “failed an automatic check” because it knows I got a number wrong. If it knows what the form is supposed to be, why do I have to refill the form? Or fill the form to begin with?

        No amount of hyperbole can make that reality any more ridiculous.

  • kemsat@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    You mean the people good at hoarding money are good at lying about how much money they’re hoarding?

  • stealthnerd@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Spending 8 billion to find half a billion doesn’t sound like something worth bragging about. Let me know when they 20x that number.

    • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      I was curious what that funding is used for and found this:

      While the Inflation Reduction Act does include $78 billion over 10 years for the IRS, that money is mainly to help the agency backfill thousands of existing positions, such as IT people, taxpayer customer support — and, yes, auditors. But they will primarily be assigned to focus on ultrawealthy Americans and corporate tax cheats.

      https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-87000-irs-agents-biden_n_63110a90e4b07d96a24c63d0

      • stealthnerd@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Yes and that’s why I said 8 billion and not 80, I accounted for the fact that this was one year worth of work.

      • NounsAndWords@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        But the additional money was effectively $8 billion per year ($80 billion over 10 years). I very much want to force the rich to pay taxes…but I want it to cost less than the taxes they collect to do it.
        Hopefully it keeps ramping up in the coming years.

        • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Do you think this is their only accomplishment, or just the one they want most obviously publicized?

          • NounsAndWords@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Certainly not the only accomplishment, but I expect between the agency itself and the politicians who pushed for the budget allocations, they would want to advertise the biggest number they can come up with to justify the funding. What I think is that $520 million was the biggest number they could reasonably justify reporting.

            • 800XL@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Hey, I’m gonna share a few little dad-isms that my dad shared with me many many moons ago that hopefully will help you put things into perspective when you’re feeling impatient. I know it did for me.

              You gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette

              Sometimes it’s about sending a message to let 'em know you’re watching

              Nothing worthwhile in life comes easy

              People will get away with whatever you let them get away with

              There’s no honor amongst thieves

              Fast, easy, cheap: pick two

              You have to learn to walk before you can learn to run

              The journey of a million miles begins with a single step

              and the similar

              You can eat an entire elephant a single bite at a time