Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said Democrats are weaponizing the IRS and steamrolling the American people by passing the Inflation Reduction Act.
"It's atrocious. It's a terrible bill," he said on Newsmax's "Spicer & Co."
"You know, giving $80 billion to the IRS to increase their ranks by 87,000 agents and you know who's going to get audited? It's going to be those of us, the small business owners and those earning under $400,000 are going to get the brunt of those audits. The Democrats say that's not true, but we know better."
The IRS currently has about 80,000 employees, including clerical workers, customer service representatives, enforcement officials and others. The agency has lost roughly 50,000 employees over the past five years due to attrition, according to the IRS. More than half of the IRS employees who work in enforcement are currently eligible for retirement, said Natasha Sarin, the Treasury Department’s counselor for tax policy and implementation.
The IRS-related money in the Inflation Reduction Act is intended to boost efforts against high-end tax evasion, Sarin said.
The nearly $80 billion for the IRS in the bill will also pay for other improvements, such as revamping the agency's technology, said Janet Holtzblatt, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center and former Treasury official.
Clyde said the bill's passage Friday in the House was "a sad day for America."
"You see the big government socialist agenda steamrolling the American people, and they're using the IRS to do it. They will weaponize the IRS with all these agents, which is why we have to take the House back in November to stop this."
Clyde also said the bill adds $130 billion to the national debt.
"That's unacceptable, it's inexcusable, it's fiscally irresponsible. But that's the way the Democrats are running this country, which is why there has to be a change in leadership."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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