IRS resources will be dedicated towards modernization and hiring now

The IRS released a much-anticipated report on Thursday outlining how it will spend new funding on ambitious hiring plans and increased enforcement aimed at wealthy taxpayers and big corporations — but left a long list of questions unanswered, which is bound to aggravate lawmakers. The report describes the agency’s objectives for the $80 billion cash infusion that was provided by Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, including plans to create “world-class” customer service for taxpayers seeking assistance; develop data management systems so IRS employees can have a 360-degree view of a taxpayers’ information; and hire specialized lawyers and accountants who can help audit the most complex corporate and partnership returns. Democratic lawmakers and newly appointed IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel say the agency’s transformation will help bring in an estimated half-trillion dollars that the government misses out on every year due to tax evasion, all the while making it much easier for Americans to file their taxes every year. Republicans fiercely oppose the expansion, contending the agency will unleash an army of auditors against average Americans and small businesses. But the vaguely worded report, which was delivered more than a month later than the deadline Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set, answered few of the questions that lawmakers have been lobbing at Yellen and IRS officials for months about specific budget forecasts and department hiring. The IRS, which counted around 78,700 employees in 2021, says in the report that it plans to bring on nearly 20,000 new employees by the end of fiscal year 2024. That would include 7,239 hires in enforcement and 6,489 in taxpayer services and surely offset some attrition in the agency’s ranks from retirements.