IRS commissioner says agency rounded up $38M from over 175 high-income tax delinquents
IRS chief said federal tax collector's ability to identify tax delinquents comes from resources provided by Inflation Reduction Act
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Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Thursday that the agency collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more than 175 high-income taxpayers in the past few months.
Around 100 high-income individuals reportedly attempted to get favorable tax treatment through Puerto Rico, without meeting certain requirements.
"It just shows you how much money is out there in delinquent taxes, and there are so many more cases for us to tackle," he said in a call with reporters, according to The Associated Press. "There’s just a significant opportunity there."
The IRS did not provide figures for how those high-dollar tax collections compared with previous years.
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Former commissioner Charles Rettig said in 2021 that the U.S. government is losing some $1 trillion in unpaid taxes every year.
Then-Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee on March 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C. ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Werfel also noted the federal tax collector's ability to identify these actors comes from resources provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
In April, it released a report detailing how it would spend the funds, including bringing a paper-based system online.
While the IRS was in line for $80 billion under the law, which passed last August, the money is vulnerable to potential cutbacks. House Republicans built a $1.4 billion reduction to the IRS into the debt ceiling and budget cuts package passed by Congress earlier this summer.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2023. ((Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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"The mixed results here of some taxpayers, still frustrated, and some taxpayers seeing dramatic improvements tells us we have more work to do," Werfel said.
The Biden administration has pledged that those making less than $400,000 a year will not see higher audit rates.
A Government Accountability Office report released last year shows that the majority of IRS audits historically are conducted on individuals and businesses below the $400,000 threshold.
FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington on March 22, 2013. ((AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) / AP Newsroom)
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"Secretary Yellen has consistently stated that audit rates for individuals making less than $400,000 per year and small businesses will not increase relative to historical levels," a Treasury Department spokesperson told FOX Business of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in March.
FOX Business' Chris Pandolfo, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.