IRS Budget: Penny-wise, Pound-foolish

IRS funding in decline. ($ billions, inflation adjusted)

Tax professionals feel the pain.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines

People don’t often have much nice to say about the Internal Revenue Service. But everybody seems to like what internal revenues pay for—the powerful military, the court system, the interstate highways, air travel safety, the control of disease, the prevention of pollution, national parks, health benefits for elected officials, and so much more.

Without taxes, we don’t have a great country. We don’t even have civilization. And without the IRS, we don’t have taxes.

Despite the crucial importance of the IRS, Congress has reduced the service’s budget to the point where lost revenues may exceed (if they aren’t already) cost savings. And the problem can only get worse, professionals say, with a 14-percent budget cut next year, as reportedly planned by the White House.