IRS Recovers $4.7 Billion in Back Taxes

The IRS has successfully recovered $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from various criminal activities, aided by significant funding from the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This recovery included $1.3 billion from high-income individuals with overdue tax debts, $2.9 billion from criminal investigations related to tax and financial crimes, and $475 million stemming from whistleblower information. The agency also reported collecting $292 million from over 28,000 high-income non-filers who had not filed taxes since 2017. Despite these achievements, the IRS faces potential budget cuts as Republicans prepare to take control of Congress, with plans to rescind much of the funding provided to the agency. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel expressed confidence that the improvements made will help the agency manage the upcoming challenges and support the new administration in extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The future funding of the IRS remains uncertain, especially with proposed budget cuts looming on the horizon.