Conservative Groups to Oppose IRS Funding Boost
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A host of conservative interest groups are mobilizing in opposition to a plan to sharply increase funding for the IRS — a key element of the financing for the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
The infrastructure framework negotiated by the White House and a bipartisan group of senators includes $40 billion to beef up the IRS as part of an effort to offset costs by collecting more revenue — less than the $80 billion President Biden originally wanted, but a substantial increase nevertheless. The negotiators estimate that the tax agency could generate an additional $140 billion with the increased funding by focusing on taxes that currently go unpaid.
According to The Washington Post Thursday, a set of conservative groups including the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, FreedomWorks and the Conservative Action Project are preparing a campaign to influence Republican lawmakers, with the goal of eliminating the additional funding for the IRS.
Why it matters: “A successful effort could imperil bipartisan support for the $974 billion infrastructure package,” the Post’s Jeff Stein, Tony Romm and Yeganeh Torbati say.
The bottom line: The bipartisan infrastructure plan faces any number of hurdles, and organized opposition to increased IRS funding will make it that much harder for the package to advance. Still, 11 Senate Republicans have expressed support for the plan thus far, and it’s not clear yet that the anti-funding group will prevail.
