The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is set to see a significant expansion of its enforcement team with the hiring of 5,582 additional tax enforcers in 2024. This move comes as part of a substantial $78 billion funding boost received by the agency, marking a substantial increase over previous years.
Contrary to reports suggesting the hiring of a massive army of armed enforcement agents, the watchdog overseeing the IRS has clarified that only a fraction of the new hires will be carrying guns. Specifically, the Criminal Investigation Division special agents are the only enforcement personnel within the IRS who will be armed.
The hiring spree will focus on different categories of staff within the IRS, including revenue officers responsible for collecting delinquent taxes, revenue agents tasked with conducting tax audits, and armed special agents in the criminal division. By the end of the 2024 fiscal year, the IRS is expected to have a total of 18,328 tax enforcement staff members.
The increased staffing levels are aimed at enhancing the IRS’s enforcement activities, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence to identify tax compliance gaps and maximize tax collections. The overarching goal is to reduce the tax gap, which represents the shortfall between owed and paid taxes.
To achieve this goal, the IRS plans to prioritize enforcement actions against high-income taxpayers with substantial tax debts, as well as large corporations with significant assets. Additional initiatives include cracking down on the abuse of corporate tax breaks and targeting individual taxpayers with high annual incomes and recognized tax debts.
Overall, the IRS’s heightened focus on tax enforcement reflects a concerted effort to enhance compliance, narrow the tax gap, and ensure that taxpayers meet their obligations. With the infusion of additional funding and the hiring of new enforcement personnel, the IRS aims to bolster its efforts in detecting tax evasion and improving overall tax compliance in the United States.
