MUST READ: I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors for Wealthiest Americans
July 25, 2006
Today, the New York Times reports that the Bush Administration will lay off nearly half of the auditors at the IRS who are tasked with auditing the wealthiest Americans, whose overall Federal taxes have decreased under the Bush Administration policies. This announcement comes on the heels of recent economic reports of a growing disparity in income between the nation's wealthiest Americans and everyone else. The gap has grown in part because CEO compensation has exploded while median family income has decreased. This reduction in IRS oversight of America’s wealhiest is just the latest example of Bush Administration and Republican policies that consistently put the priorities of the GOP and its special interest cronies ahead of the needs of the American people.
Below are excerpts from today’s New York Times:
I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
New York Times
July 23, 2006
"The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others.
"The Bush administration has passed measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate tax — which opponents refer to as the “death tax” — but has failed in its efforts to eliminate the tax entirely. Mr. Brown said in a telephone interview Friday that he had ordered the staff cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under President Bush’s legislation. …six I.R.S. estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the I.R.S. to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits. …
“…“This is not a game the poor will win, but the rich will,” said John Hruska, another I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in New York who, like Ms. Phillips, is active in the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents I.R.S. workers. …”
To read the entire article, please click here.
