Biden IRS nominee promises not to increase audits of households making less than $400K
Daniel Werfel's confirmation hearing is set for Wednesday morning
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Daniel Werfel, President Biden's nominee to be the next IRS commissioner, will promise the Senate Finance Committee that if he gets the job, he will not increase audits on households or businesses that make less than $400,000 a year.
Werfel's prepared opening remarks for his Wednesday confirmation hearing, obtained by The Associated Press, addresses concerns expressed by Republicans that approximately $80 billion in new funding from the Inflation Reduction Act will go toward thousands of new IRS agents who will target the middle class.
Werfel is expected to say that he will audit high-income Americans, but that he intends to be "unyielding in following my true north to increase public trust."
House Republicans tried to scrap the new funding and passed a bill to do just that, but it has stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Even if it passed both chambers – not a likely outcome – Biden has said he would veto it.
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Danny Werfel, now the nominee to head the agency, is expected to promise not to increase audits on the middle class. (The Associated Press / AP Newsroom)
Werfel will likely face questions at Wednesday's hearing about new agents ramping up audits, as well as other controversial proposals from the Biden administration, such as a new reporting system for service industry workers to declare earnings from tips.
The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program, which would be voluntary, is currently in the public comment stage. The IRS has said the program is meant to "take advantage of advancements in point-of-sale, time and attendance systems, and electronic payment settlement methods to improve tip reporting compliance,"
Danny Werfel is President Biden's nominee to take over the agency, and his Senate confirmation hearing is set for Wednesday, Feb. 15.
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Werfel's hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET. If confirmed, he will fill the role left vacant by the previous commissioner, Charles Rettig.
FOX Business' Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.