Congress Wants a Refund: Votes to Delete Most of $80 Billion Boost in IRS Funding

On Monday, the first full day of the newly-sworn in 118th House of Representatives, the body voted mostly on party lines to pass a bill to undo most of the funding increase for the Internal Revenue Service that was included in the budget enacted into law at the end of 2022.

The bill had been a 2022 campaign priority for most GOP Congressional candidates, but to take effect, it would need to next pass in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate and then be signed by President Biden. Neither of those results are likely.

The House bill to remove the funding increase passed with a vote of 221-210, with some members of each party absent or voting present. It would rescind the part of last year’s budget that added $80 billion to IRS expenditures.

Those who supported the original funding bill say the increase will help the agency increase collections on existing tax laws, and therefore increase federal revenue, by improving technology and computing systems, customer support, operations, and enforcement. Conservatives said it was an unnecessary increase in power and authority being given to the primary U.S. tax enforcement agency that would threaten small business owners.

The original annual government funding package that passed in 2022, and included the IRS funding increase, passed the Senate in December 2022 on a bipartisan vote of 68-29. It passed through the House of Representatives a few weeks earlier on a vote of 225-201.