The IRS is preparing to provide a detailed plan of how it is going to be spending the $80 billion in federal funding that it will be receiving following the Democrats’ passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year.
The $80 billion will be spent over the course of a decade, and it marks one of the biggest funding boosts that the agency has received in recent decades. The IRA also speculates how the money will need to be spent across four categories. These include $25.3 billion for operations, $3.1 billion to aid in answering phone calls, $4.8 billion in new technology, and $45.6 billion for enforcement and audits.
Outside of these general categories, it is up to the IRS and the Treasury Department to determine exactly how their funds are going to be spent. Their plans and designations are going to be publicly released on Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, during the swearing-in of new IRS commissioner Danny Werfel, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the plan would be released within the week. She also repeated that none of the audits would be for those people who are making less than $400,000 annually, despite the large boost in the audits funds.
As she claimed these additional funds are going to ensure that the agency can “ peel back complex corporate structures and large taxpaying entities” to certify that everyone is paying what they need to be. She added that the resources will not target small businesses and households.
