The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is seeking to use an infusion of funding to keep up with the ever-evolving tax maneuvers of the ultra-rich — while staving off frequent political attacks.
A pair of U.S. Internal Revenue Service agents are attempting to interview a billionaire they suspect of cheating on his taxes. But across the table from the agents is a formidable entourage of esteemed tax professionals hired to defend the billionaire. They include white-shoe attorneys — each of whom knows more about their own arcane corner of tax law than just about anyone on earth — along with highly specialized accountants and economists.
Neither of the two IRS agents has a law degree. Complex arguments from the billionaire’s entourage fly over their heads. The IRS agents are outmatched by a team whose combined years of experience in tax law and accounting exceed their own by over a century.
This stark example, laid out by former IRS officials in interviews with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, isn’t a hypothetical so much as a glimpse into the agency’s regular challenges in auditing the United States’ highest earners. These battles often come down to experience and expertise. The IRS has been losing, former officials said.
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A historic push is now underway to change this dynamic. In mid-2022, the Inflation Reduction Act delivered the IRS a historic $80 billion — in part, to bulk up the agency’s divisions that audit millionaires, billionaires and large corporations. After years of pitiful enforcement rates against wealthy taxpayers, the agency is embarking on an unprecedented push to step up its capabilities and hone its ability to take on the ultra-rich.
You’ve got it completely wrong.
The consortium of lawyers isn’t there to figure out how to pay taxes correctly. The consortium of lawyers is there to exploit rules and manipulate assets in such a manner as to make it difficult to tax a wealthy individual’s worth, or allow them to avoid taxation as much as possible. Furthermore, the lawyers are there to drag out and defend against any IRS investigations in order for that wealth to continue accumulating and that any fines or judgments are less than the cost of engaging in such efforts.
That’s exactly what I said. The rules exist and the game is played. Don’t be mad that the game is played. If it was illegal to stall an investigation, they wouldn’t be. If it wasn’t legal to claim a million different deductions, they wouldn’t. But it legal and it is used.
You can hate how the game is played when the players exploiting it paid to have the rules written for them.
Not at all. Because that is the major part of the game. The US is not some democracy. It’s an oligarchy run republic. Affirmation of things like citizen’s united and freely allowing unlimited money lobbiests confirms it.
If you don’t like how the system works, then revolution is needed to change it. Trying to say the rules aren’t being used fairly means nothing. Laws don’t have morals or ethics. If it is the rule, it’s the rule. Use it and abuse it. Or change the rule.