Press Releases

FACT CHECK: No, Senator Kelly Did Not Hire An “Army of IRS Agents” to Audit Middle- and Lower-Class Families

October 6, 2022

Another day (night), another debunked claim from Blake Masters. For months, National Republicans have been attempting to lie about Senator Kelly’s record of cutting taxes and lowering costs for hardworking families, reiterating false claims that “distort” the truth on legislation that will lower taxes for families and make corporations pay their fair share. The same thing goes for the claim that Senator Kelly voted for an “army of 87,000 IRS agents.”

See for yourself:

Politifact: “Mostly False:” Democrats are voting to add an army of 87,000 IRS agents who will target middle class taxpayers and conduct at least 1 million more audits each year. 

But even in the 2021 plan, not all of the hires would be auditors or work in enforcement. The report said the money would go toward many things, including “hiring new specialized enforcement staff, modernizing antiquated information technology, and investing in meaningful taxpayer service.”

Although the agency’s staff would increase, it’s key to note that more than half of the IRS workforce is close to retirement. The plan was created with that exodus in mind. Today, the IRS has about 80,000 employees

“The IRS will lose about 50,000 people over the next five or six years,” Natasha Sarin, Treasury’s counselor for tax policy and implementation, told PolitiFact National. “A lot of this hiring is about replacing those people.”

During the past decade, the IRS has seen its funding cut by 20%. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of enforcement personnel fell by about one-third.

So, the 87,000 people won’t exclusively work on the enforcement side, and they won’t all boost the overall size of the IRS workforce. 

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