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IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

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Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#21

Post by abtinf »

numakerg wrote: post #4

Just one of the many sectors where budget cuts are going turn into huge losses down the line. The consequences of cutting healthcare and education are (going) to be much worse.

When have healthcare or education ever been cut?

Edit: A lot of downvotes, but no examples. Such cuts are always talked about as if though they have factually happened. To my knowledge, I’ve never actually seen such a cut in the United States at the federal, state, or local level. Sometimes, there have been attempts to limit the rate of spending growth, but those seem to always fail too.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#22

Post by mrguyorama »

devoply wrote: post #6

> IRS is auditing fewer tax returns from corporations because it has fewer people and resources available to identify potential errors and follow up on questionable tax returns On one hand I do want businesses to pay their fair share. On the other hand I don't want to encourage massive tax agencies which must justify their numbers by auditing and harassing as many people as possible. Often small businesses that don't…

I don't think the IRS has ever been well funded enough to run out of the innumerable corporations with legitimate tax issues

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#23

Post by SimbaOnSteroids »

RyanAF7 wrote: post #12
corybrown wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a faction of US politicians that are philosophically against (most) government and taxes. It's not about ROI, it's about their goals.

Interesting. A faction you say? You mean like the faction that drafted the Articles of Confederation?

No, the contemporary one that learned nothing from that folly.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#24

Post by vkou »

nostromo wrote: post #20
Kapura wrote: post #14

Greed is winning in America. Any person or political party that is trying to reduce staffing for a tax collection agency is trying to get away with tax fraud or they are working for somebody who is. It is far past the time to recognise this.

“Anyone opposing more police officers and equipment is looking to break the law.” Just as I don’t want a bored cop on every street corner, I also don’t want the IRS to be staffed to maximize revenue. It’s a balance.

That's because when cops have nothing better to do, they harass and assault people for all sorts of subjective made up infractions.

I do not expect a properly staffed tax agency to.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#25

Post by pmoriarty »

And yet some people manage to whip themselves in to a righteous frenzy over someone collecting welfare or immigrants getting a microscopic bit of state aid.

Such people really need to get a sense of proportion.

The destitute, despised, downtrodden guy who slaves away to support their family by mowing your lawn, picking apples for you, driving you somewhere, or serving you your burger is not your enemy.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#26

Post by txsoftwaredev »

Spellman wrote: post #16
devoply wrote: post #6

> IRS is auditing fewer tax returns from corporations because it has fewer people and resources available to identify potential errors and follow up on questionable tax returns On one hand I do want businesses to pay their fair share. On the other hand I don't want to encourage massive tax agencies which must justify their numbers by auditing and harassing as many people as possible. Often small businesses that don't…

Generally they don't harass people unless something seems amiss and there is a large enough discrepancy to justify it. And there's eventually a marginal tipping point where more money spent in audits won't net more recovered revenue. Generally the smaller the fry, the less you can recover from them.

Unless you were a conservative group a few years back.

'The controversy began in 2013 when an IRS official admitted the agency had been aggressively scrutinizing groups with names such as "Tea Party" and "Patriots."'

https://www.npr.org/2017/10/27/560308997/irs-apologizes-for-...

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#27

Post by [deleted] »

RyanAF7 wrote: post #12
corybrown wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a faction of US politicians that are philosophically against (most) government and taxes. It's not about ROI, it's about their goals.

Interesting. A faction you say? You mean like the faction that drafted the Articles of Confederation?

[deleted]

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#28

Post by maehwasu »

numakerg wrote: post #4

Just one of the many sectors where budget cuts are going turn into huge losses down the line. The consequences of cutting healthcare and education are (going) to be much worse.

The consequences of not exposing healthcare and education to cost pressure have already been catastrophic for consumers of both, so I'm not quite sure where you're going with this one.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#29

Post by danenania »

berbec wrote: post #3

The act of reducing the manpower of the IRS needed to enforce the laws may have a greater effect than all the tax cuts combined. If a business is fairly certain an audit isn't coming, their effective tax rate is whatever they want it to be.

Also important is what happens to a business that gets caught. If the punishment is 'pay back taxes plus a moderate penalty, and here we'll even set up a convenient payment plan for you', then cheating on taxes is effectively a free roll. You have a 95% chance of saving a ton of money, and 5% chance of paying only a bit more than you would have paid anyway if you followed the laws.

That said, the absurd complexity of the tax code is also a problem here, since you don't want the government doling out bankruptcy-inducing penalties on businesses that might just be making an honest mistake. The whole system clearly needs an overhaul. It should be simple enough that when a business severely underpays, it will be very likely that they did so on purpose, and therefore a large, deterrent-worthy penalty can be justified.

Re: IRS budget cuts cost $34.3B in lost revenue from big business

#30

Post by toomuchtodo »

nostromo wrote: post #20
Kapura wrote: post #14

Greed is winning in America. Any person or political party that is trying to reduce staffing for a tax collection agency is trying to get away with tax fraud or they are working for somebody who is. It is far past the time to recognise this.

“Anyone opposing more police officers and equipment is looking to break the law.” Just as I don’t want a bored cop on every street corner, I also don’t want the IRS to be staffed to maximize revenue. It’s a balance.

I like taxes; with them we buy civilization.

I want the IRS to have whatever resources are necessary to collect every tax dollar owed (but not a dollar more) according to tax statue.

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