Senate Republicans look to protect Americans earning less than $400k from IRS audits

Senate Republicans introduced legislation this week that would prevent the IRS from using the $80 billion in new spending authority it received this year to audit taxpayers who earn less than $400,000 annually.

The IRS received billions in funding to update its systems and hire new staff in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress approved in August without a single Republican vote in the House or Senate. Republicans argued even before the vote that the bill would raise taxes on people earning less than $400,000, which would violate President Biden’s pledge to spare those earners from new taxes.

This week, Republicans offered their bill to make sure the $80 billion is not used to fund audits from what the GOP called a "supersized IRS."