Obama Wants 5,100 More IRS Agents

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The White House plan to close the mythical "tax gap."

President Obama's fiscal 2012 budget doesn't cut much of anything (see above), and certainly not the Internal Revenue Service. The White House is requesting that the most beloved of all government agencies get an additional 5,100 agents next year, no doubt to wring further tax revenue from Americans.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703703804576144774072723648.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

[^_^ 5,021]

...no doubt to wring further tax revenue from Americans.

The only way to "wring further tax revenue from Americans" is to raise taxes via changes in the tax code.

More agents can't do that. All more agents can do is better enforce the existing tax code. The people who have the most to fear from this are those who evade taxes.

[Dan J 277]

The only way to "wring further tax revenue from Americans" is to raise taxes via changes in the tax code.

More agents can't do that. All more agents can do is better enforce the existing tax code. The people who have the most to fear from this are those who evade taxes.

In 2001 the tax gap was around $310 - 350 billion. Its probably wider now. Fixing that would go a long way to reducing the deficit.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The only way to "wring further tax revenue from Americans" is to raise taxes via changes in the tax code.

More agents can't do that. All more agents can do is better enforce the existing tax code. The people who have the most to fear from this are those who evade taxes.

The largest number of abusers are EITC recipients.

Large corporations and wealthy individuals generally hire former IRS agents. Schedule C filers generally face the brunt of the enforcement sweeps. The last one was under Clinton, and I was audited during that push. I expect I will probably get audited this time as well.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Some Old Guy

[Obama 2012 1,714]

5100 more people who make sure that the American people are handing over their salaries.