GOP campaigns against the IRS vowing to slash its funding - Politics HEAD TOPICS

GOP campaigns against the IRS vowing to slash its funding

10/23/2022 8:30:00 AM

IRS pleas for more funding from Congress — made over the years by one leader after another — finally paid off this summer when Democrats tucked an $80 billion boost for the agency into their flagship climate and health care law

2022 Midterm Elections Politics

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The Associated Press

IRS pleas for more funding from Congress — made over the years by one leader after another — finally paid off this summer when Democrats tucked an $80 billion boost for the agency into their flagship climate and health care law WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS pleas for more funding from Congress — made over the years by one leader after another — finally paid off this summer when Democrats tucked an $80 billion boost for the agency into their flagship climate and health care law But campaign politics has a way of becoming policy. With GOP ads against the IRS blanketing campaign airwaves, funding for the agency appears far from safe and could come under threat as soon as the next Congress is sworn in.ADVERTISEMENT“If it was important enough to shut the government over it, the government would be shut,” Holtz-Eakin said. He noted that lawmakers passed a short-term measure last month to finance the government into December and largely skipped the IRS fight. “There’s crickets, is exactly the word, a crickets response from Democrats on this issue,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal-leaning advocacy group.ADVERTISEMENTNina Olson, a former head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, said if funds are cut, taxpayers who have been hoping for better customer service will be most negatively impacted. Read more:
The Associated Press » IRS raises contribution limits for retirement savings plans Unprecedented 401(k) boost: IRS increases amount you can save for retirement in 2023 CNN Business IRS sets new 401(k) limits — investors can save a lot more money in 2023 IRS raises contribution limits for retirement savings plans

Arizona refers voter intimidation report to Justice Department CNN Politics

The Arizona Secretary of State's Office has referred to the US Department of Justice and Arizona Attorney General's Office a report of voter intimidation, Murphy Hebert, spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, confirmed to CNN on Wednesday. Read more >> What does funding for the IRS have to do with climate or healthcare? I find this unbelievably dishonest. Hopefully we can repeal this disaster. This one is going to backfire. It’s a harassment agency. 🤦‍ Upgrade their technology. Worker bees like me have to pay. Let’s go after tax cheaters. Vote Democrat, get more IRS agents, simple as that. Of course. They hate government. They don’t want to fund it. They want to cut government services, so they will starve government of revenue. Say goodbye to Social Security, FEMA, air traffic controllers, Medicare, SNAP, the FDA, CDC, labor laws. Say hello to a police state. About f*ing time. Let's make sure the billionaires pay their fair share! Of course🚨More IRS employees more eyes 👀 on Corporations, Republican base, not paying taxes. Fraud Climate and healthcare bill. 80 billion for the IRS. Politicians wonder why we hate them. IRS raises contribution limits for retirement savings plansThe IRS said Friday that the maximum contribution that an individual can make in 2023 to a 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans will be $22,500. That’s up from $20,500 this year. Going to have to to make up for all the losses last couple years What does funding the IRS have to do with the climate? Unprecedented 401(k) boost: IRS increases amount you can save for retirement in 2023 CNN BusinessThe IRS has announced a record increase in the amount of money people can contribute to their 401(k)s and other tax-deferred retirement plans next year IRS sets new 401(k) limits — investors can save a lot more money in 2023The IRS announced sizeable increases in the amounts of money savers can put in retirement accounts. People can contribute up to $22,500 in 401(k) accounts and $6,500 in IRAs in 2023. 401K is a shitcoin. Few. Finally a policy that actually benefits taxpayers. Wait…are they doing this because they are going tax us more? JeremeyT_Allan Not enough. I was hoping to get a full $1k bump in the IRA. IRS raises contribution limits for retirement savings plansAmericans will be allowed to contribute more of their money to 401(k) and similar retirement saving plans next year. The IRS said Friday that the maximum contribution that an individual can make in 2023 to a 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans will be $22,500. Live Feed: Sweet. IRS raises contribution limits for retirement savings plansAmericans will be allowed to contribute more of their money to 401(k) and similar retirement saving plans next year. Inflation Causes IRS to Raise 2023 Contribution Limits for 401(k)s, IRAsThe employee contribution limit for 401(k)s will jump to $22,500 for 2023, the largest increase ever due to inflation adjustments look at my boobs😘 This has NOTHING to do with 'inflation adjustments' and EVERYTHING to do with forcing sheeple/normies to hold the bags of the Greatest Ponzi Scam in history so the elites can walk away unscathed. TruthBomb A semi bailout for Wall Street. EXPLAINER: How ranked choice voting works in Alaska Some of the IRS hires will be added to the ranks of sophisticated auditing teams that spend thousands of hours poring over complicated returns, but the Biden administration has also made clear that small business or households earning $400,000 per year or less will not see an increase in their chances of being audited.People aged 50 and over, which have the option to make additional “catch-up” contributions to 401(k) and similar plans, will be able to contribute up to $7,500 next year, up from $6,500 this year.Starting next year, you will be allowed to contribute up to $22,500 into your 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans or the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees.Days after the Internal Revenue Service announced big inflation-related bumps to tax brackets and standard deduction payouts for 2023, the tax agency is announcing sizeable increases in the amounts of money savers can put in retirement accounts. “The purpose of the funding is to modernize a severely underfunded agency to provide the American people with the customer service they deserve,” said Natasha Sarin, Treasury’s Counselor for Tax Policy and Implementation. But campaign politics has a way of becoming policy. The IRS also raised the 2023 annual contribution limits on individual retirement arrangements, or IRAs, to $6,500, up from $6,000 this year. With GOP ads against the IRS blanketing campaign airwaves, funding for the agency appears far from safe and could come under threat as soon as the next Congress is sworn in. The jump is largely due to inflation, to which the contribution limits are indexed. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the speaker-in-waiting, has promised that if Republicans take the majority, passage of a bill new IRS funding will be their first legislative act. The changes, among others announced by the IRS Friday, make it easier for retirement savers who use these types of tax-advantaged plans to set aside more of their income toward building their nest egg. ADVERTISEMENT While such a bill stands little chance of becoming law — President Joe Biden will retain veto power even if the GOP wins control of Congress — Republicans are unlikely to abandon the issue. When the IRS increased the 401(k) contribution limits last year, it came to a roughly 5% rise. Their greatest leverage over IRS funding will come when Congress takes up must-pass spending bills to finance government agencies or to avoid a government default on its debt. Boosting the contribution rate on a 401(k) or IRA plan, even by 1%, can make a big difference over 10 or 20 years, assuming the saver remains employed and making contributions the entire time.4% from $6,500 today. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, doubts that lawmakers will go so far as to force a government shutdown in a demand for less IRS funding. “If it was important enough to shut the government over it, the government would be shut,” Holtz-Eakin said. Taxpayers can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if they meet certain conditions. He noted that lawmakers passed a short-term measure last month to finance the government into December and largely skipped the IRS fight. While the increases could help those hoping to power charge their retirement savings, most 401(k) participants do not save anywhere near the federal limit. ADVERTISEMENT Still, some proponents of the additional IRS funding are concerned by the Democratic response to the GOP ads, or to be more precise, the lack thereof. The IRS has outlined the details on these and other retirement-related changes for 2023 Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. Catch-up contribution limits rise to $7,500 from $6,500, the IRS said. Instead, Democratic groups and candidates are largely focusing their campaign ads on non-economic issues such as abortion rights. “There’s crickets, is exactly the word, a crickets response from Democrats on this issue,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal-leaning advocacy group. Most Read.3% rise. “This is a story about messaging,” Clemente said. “.. (Here are the IRS rules. That’s up from a range between $68,000 and $78,000 during 2022. . Candidates need to be talking about it. They need to be running ads on it. That’s up from $144,000 ($214,000 for joint filers) currently. They need to be telling people how they’re going to benefit, not just personally benefit by an improved IRS, but how rich and corporate tax cheats are going to have to pay the taxes that they owe.” The IRS is still working on the details about how it would spend the extra $80 billion, but it has emphasized that resources would be directed at improving customer service and scrutiny at the high end of the income scale. Retirement savers putting money in their 401(k) can’t also put pre-tax money in a traditional IRA, but they can contribute to a Roth account. ADVERTISEMENT Among other things, the IRS says its new funding will be devoted to remedying longstanding customer service issues — like answering the phone. More changes on tap And stay tuned: The changes the IRS just announced may not be the only ones in store for next year. The problem is so pervasive that a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote to the IRS last November to complain about phone calls being answered only 9% of the time during the 2021 filing season. The IRS will also be tasked with coming up with how to move forward with an expanded free-file system for taxpayers. Nina Olson, a former head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, said if funds are cut, taxpayers who have been hoping for better customer service will be most negatively impacted. “Some of the problematic 2023 effective dates in the legislation could be pushed out a year or more, but lawmakers will be somewhat constrained by how the bills are scored for budget purposes,” said Margaret Berger, a partner in the Law & Policy Group of Mercer, a benefits consulting firm. “If you don’t want the IRS to handle 85% of incoming calls, then cut the funding — if you want the IRS to continue to have technology that comes from the 1960s, by all means, cut its funding,” Olson said. That’s a step up from this year’s $204,000 – $214,000 range. Democrats provided the funding boost to the IRS to help pay for other health and climate priorities, such as helping millions pay their health insurance premiums over the next three years and capping insulin costs at no more than $35 a month for Medicare beneficiaries. ADVERTISEMENT Of the additional $80 billion in IRS funding, the legislation allocated $46 billion for enforcing tax laws. The upshot for anyone with earned income: A likely boost in take-home pay early next year. The remainder goes to other activities such as services for taxpayers, operations support and updating business systems. Additional funding for the agency has been politically controversial since 2013, when the IRS under the Obama administration was found to have used inappropriate criteria to review tea party groups and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status. In the ensuing years, the IRS was mostly on the losing end of congressional funding fights, even as a subsequent 2017 report found that both conservative and liberal groups were chosen for scrutiny. Don’t miss: Opinion: It’s harder for me to look at my 529 balance than my 401(k) because I have a high school junior. In April, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told members of the Senate Finance Committee the agency’s budget has decreased by more than 15% over the past decade when accounting for inflation and that the number of full-time employees at 79,000 in the last fiscal year was close to 1974 levels. Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said if Republicans are successful in cutting funding for the IRS, “it will seriously damage a fundamental function of the government,” she said “which is really troubling.” “The reality is that government, through the IRS, plays a critically important role in the lives of Americans every day,” she said. “Pretending that role doesn’t exist to score political points is destructive.” ___ Follow AP’s coverage of the elections at: https://apnews. com/hub/2022-midterm-elections Check out https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the 2022 midterm elections. AP NEWS .