House Democrats propose increasing IRS budget for fiscal 2022

House Appropriations Committee Democrats on Wednesday released a draft government funding bill for fiscal 2022 that would increase the IRS’s budget.

The financial services and general government appropriations bill would provide the IRS with about $13.2 billion in base funding for the agency, plus an additional $417 million focused on reducing the “tax gap” between the amount of taxes paid and the amount owed. 

The total funding for the IRS in the bill is $1.7 billion higher than the enacted level for this year. 

“I am particularly proud of strong funding increases to rebuild the Internal Revenue Service, helping the agency process Child Tax Credit payments, provide better customer service, and crack down on big corporations and the wealthy who aren’t paying their fair share in taxes,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement.

A House appropriations subcommittee is scheduled to consider the bill Thursday.

The bill’s proposed IRS budget matches President Biden’s request in his budget proposal. Biden has also proposed additional increased funding for the agency over a 10-year period in order to reduce the tax gap and raise revenue to pay for his infrastructure proposals.

In total, the financial services and general government bill includes $29.1 billion in discretionary funding.

In addition to including funding for the IRS, the bill also includes funding for other areas of the Treasury Department as well as for the Security and Exchange Commission, the Small Business Administration, the federal judiciary, the Executive Office of the President, and the District of Columbia.