Democrats Are Called on to Do One Thing After Suggesting IRS Audits Are No Biggie

We reported earlier on how powerful Democrats are laughably claiming that the proposed addition of some 87,000 audit-minded IRS agents that will come as the result of the bogusly named “Inflation Reduction Act” shouldn’t be considered a big deal by anyone who has nothing to hide from the Internal Revenue Service.

For instance, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) lied on Fox News Sunday when he told host Mike Emanuel that “The auditing is going to be focused on those with high incomes, the large corporations, etc. So, there’s no reason to be fearful. And if you paid your taxes, and you complied with our laws, you should want to make sure everyone else does that.”

Other proponents of the adding of the nearly 90,000 agents weighed in on the Twitter machine, sharing an eerily similar message:

All of my GOP friends who are worried about 87,000 IRS enforcement agents coming after the little guy… How about just don't cheat on tax returns? A fully truthful and accurate tax return is bulletproof in an audit. I never understood the fear of an IRS audit. Don't lie. Period.

— Adam Markowitz (@adammarkowitzEA) August 5, 2022

I’m not worried about being audited by the IRS, because I’m not a criminal.

— John Collins (@Logically_JC) August 8, 2022

pic.twitter.com/JZ7h5vltPg

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) August 8, 2022

Isn’t all that a bit like saying “I’m not worried about being accused of rape because I’m not a rapist”?

The problem with all these declarations about how the little guy has nothing to fear from the IRS should auditors come knocking is that in reality they’ll most often be knocking on the doors of middle-class business owners and the like, not the rich fat cats who know how to “legally” evade taxes and who line Democrat and Republican pockets alike with campaign cash.

Another problem, of course, is that more often than not, the issues found during audits are not due to deliberate “cheating” but because the freakin’ U.S. tax code is some 70,000 pages long, so it’s very easy for freelancers, small business owners, and others in the same boat who don’t have the money to pay for rount-the-clock accountants to make an innocent mistake that can ultimately be costly.

And even if it’s found that the person being audited didn’t do anything wrong, it still ends up being costly to the taxpayer in terms of the time, money and stress involved in trying to make your case.

Lastly, of course it’s no surprise that Republicans are the ones raising the biggest stink over the 87,000 agents, especially considering how conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status were deliberately treated to, ahem, extra scrutiny during the Obama administration, something that the department apologized for only after Donald Trump took office.

In any event, the suggestion put out there to Democrats on this came from attorney Eric Matheny, who urged Democrats to put their money where their mouth is – or something like that.

“To prove to the American people that audits are nothing to be afraid of, every Member of Congress should submit to one,” he tweeted. “First up, those who have served 30 years or more.”

Another had an alternative idea. Instead of the 87,000 agents, Lori from SoCal proposed “How about we audit the government to see if they’re using our tax dollars responsibly? I could hardly type that without laughing because we all know they’re not.”

I am totally down with both, whether the 87,000 agents idea gets completely nixed or not.