Tactical Village in Sacramento, Calif.
A recent audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has uncovered that nearly 6,000 employees and contractors of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collectively owe close to $50 million in overdue taxes.
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who requested the audit, did not hold back in her criticism of IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
In a press release, Ernst introduced the Audit the IRS Act, which mandates annual audits of IRS employees and calls for the termination of any agent found to be delinquent on their taxes.
“The spirit of 1776 is still alive and well with a tax revolt happening right now at the most unlikely of places in Washington, the IRS,” Ernst said.
“While the IRS warns, ‘tax evasion is a serious crime punishable by imprisonment, fines, and the imposition of civil penalties,’ the agency is rewarding its own tax dodgers with paychecks and lavish benefits made possible, ironically, with the taxes paid by law-abiding citizens.”
“My legislation will create a zero-tolerance policy for tax evasion and misconduct while ensuring these IRS bureaucrats are no longer allowed to live by one set of rules and enforce another on honest, hardworking Americans,” she added.
Key Findings from the TIGTA Audit
The TIGTA audit unveiled several alarming statistics regarding tax compliance among IRS personnel:
- Over 5,800 IRS and contractor employees owe nearly $50 million in overdue taxes.
- Despite having the authority to terminate employees who willfully fail to pay taxes, only 20 individuals were dismissed for tax-related offenses.
- More than 500 former IRS employees with documented compliance issues—including criminal and sexual misconduct—were rehired by the agency or its contractors.
- Of the 3,323 IRS employees identified with unpaid taxes, 2,044 owe over $12 million without being on a payment plan.
- Among 2,484 contractor employees, 1,729 owe more than $17 million, also without payment plans.
“Government-wide, TIGTA found 149,000 federal employees owe an astounding $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Tens of thousands are repeat tax cheats, failing to file tax returns year after year, and the number is steadily increasing,” said Ernst.
In a scathing letter addressed to Commissioner Werfel, Ernst emphasized the need for immediate action: “Today is a great day to demonstrate the seriousness of that pledge by making the thousands of tax-evading tax collectors at the IRS either pay up or pack up.”
She pointed out that while taxpayers are being pressured to shoulder increased burdens through new audits aimed primarily at lower-income and middle-class individuals, many within the IRS are allowed to evade their own obligations.
Ernst’s proposed legislation seeks to ensure rigorous oversight of IRS employees’ tax compliance while reinforcing that all Americans should be held to the same standards.
“Taxpayers will never trust the IRS when the agency’s own auditors can’t even pass a tax audit,” she said.
This bombshell report comes as the Biden administration ramps up efforts to hire an additional 88,000 IRS agents, ostensibly to target middle-class Americans and hardworking taxpayers.
The hypocrisy is staggering. Joe Biden’s administration has been criticized for increasing the taxation burden on tips and aggressively hiring more IRS agents to enforce tax compliance among ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, the very individuals tasked with collecting taxes are failing to comply with tax laws themselves.
Former President Donald Trump has been vocal in his criticism of Biden’s tax policies, particularly the controversial hiring spree at the IRS.
“I am the only Candidate who has ever called for delivering relief to our wonderful Service Workers by NOT TAXING THEIR TIPS,” Trump wrote. “It was my idea that Tips should not be taxed, and only I will GET IT DONE – And do it IMMEDIATELY upon my return to the White House,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Crooked Joe Biden has taken the totally opposite approach, trying to TAX more and more of their Tips, even hiring 88,000 IRS Agents to collect! In fact, Crooked Joe substantially increased the Reporting Requirements for Workers (2023!), and would go still further if I wasn’t here to watch.”
“Biden could never, and will never, get done what I’ve proposed – Just like he never got Student Loan Forgiveness done. With Biden, it’s ALL TALK, AND NO ACTION. Hopefully Rank and File Union Members, Union Leadership itself, and Workers all over the Country, both Union and Non-Union, will support Donald J. Trump, because I’m NO TALK AND ALL ACTION! TRUMP KEEPS HIS PROMISES, AND STANDS WITH OUR GREAT WORKERS. PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!” he wrote.
