The IRS Should Focus on Its Own Employees Who Avoid Paying Taxes

Sen. Joni Ernst is absolutely on point: The IRS ought to ensure its own employees settle the millions they owe in taxes before demanding another penny from hardworking Americans.

The Republican contacted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday, urging “America’s least liked agency” to retrieve up to $46 million in unpaid taxes from its staff “before going after private citizens.”

That should be a given.

Last summer, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported that over 5,800 current and former IRS employees and contractors were behind on tax payments as of May 2023, with an astonishing two-thirds not even on repayment plans.

And the reaction was… silence.

The Washington Examiner discovered roughly 860 tax-evading IRS employees still on the job as of last November, including 50 who “willfully evaded” payment.

This is unacceptable: Each of these fraudsters should be terminated, with every ounce of agency resources dedicated to ensuring these cheats pay their dues.

What is the IRS’s rationale for not collecting the unpaid taxes?

That’s its sole responsibility.

The IRS conducts hundreds of thousands of audits annually, particularly targeting unpaid taxes from working-class individuals and small businesses.

In fact, most audits are directed towards Average Joes, as their tax filings tend to be much simpler than those of billionaires, who often have the resources to challenge the IRS.

It’s high time to redirect the infamous revenue-seeking apparatus of the IRS back onto itself.

Given its already low popularity, allowing its own agents to get away with tax evasion while ordinary citizens face severe repercussions only further undermines public trust and creates the illusion of a protected class within government workers.

The report from 2024 cannot be ignored.

The next $46 million collected should be sourced from its own delinquent employees.

Balance due, tax collector.

Time to pay up.