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Sarbanes Urges Congress to Increase Funding for the IRS to Improve Delivery of Tax Refunds and Stimulus Payments to American Families [Video]

October 7, 2020

Congressman Sarbanes Argues That Hardworking Americans Are Getting Short Shrift from an Under-Resourced IRS, While Wealthy Tax Cheats and Fraudsters Abuse the System to Get Rich Quick

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a House Government Operations Subcommittee hearing today, Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) called on Congress to provide more resources to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help improve the delivery of tax credits, tax refunds and COVID-19 relief checks for hardworking American families, and to crack down on wealthy tax cheats and fraudsters who continue to abuse the tax system.

"I want to salute the frontline workers at the IRS – the rank and file who are really engaged in acts of heroism every day trying to lift up a caseload that I think is drowning them," said Congressman Sarbanes. "When the IRS doesn't have enough resources, the fact of the matter is that the rich get richer, high-end tax cheats get away with not paying their taxes, fraudsters are able to get away with their schemes and those who ought to be on the receiving end of severe and significant enforcement by the IRS are not."

Sarbanes continued: "Meanwhile, those average Americans out there who play by the rules and look to the IRS to engage with them in a straightforward way and get them their refund, make sure the Earned Income Tax Credit is processed, make sure that these economic payments that come from these stimulus measures we've put in place are getting to them – they're the ones that are getting short shrift here."

Sarbanes concluded: "I think that's what's so offensive to many of us – is when the IRS doesn't have the resources that it should, it can't do what's necessary to enforce against those who are trying to evade their tax obligations on the one hand, and it can't provide the kind of service to everyday Americans who are playing by the rules on the other hand."

See below for the Congressman's full remarks.

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