The IRS Budget Is Increasing Sixfold, Over Half Goes to Enforcement
Citizens across the United States are unnerved at the news the IRS will effectively double in size once the “Inflation Reduction Act” passes the House and awaits the president’s signature.
Although the IRS has never been much of a trusted government department, the agency has been under even more scrutiny as the expectations of newly hired special agents came to light. National Review reported an IRS job posting that included as its major duties: “Carry a firearm … be willing to use deadly force, if necessary,” and “Be willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants and other dangerous assignments.” This posting was quickly deleted after news of it spread across social media.
It must be noted that the IRS Criminal Investigations department has approximately 2,500 agents. These are the agents that are authorized to carry and use firearms and serve as the agency’s law enforcement. This begs another question, why does the IRS need its own law enforcement? Between the DEA, FBI, CIA, U.S. Marshalls, state and local law enforcement, aren’t there enough agencies to provide support for IRS operations?
Forbes reported that “the IRS has been buying more guns and ammunition in recent years, snapping up nearly $700,000 in ammo in early 2022.” This has been a trend over the last decade, with expenditures on ammunition topping out at $1.1 million in 2011.
The biggest question that many people have, who haven’t read the act itself in its entirety, is what is all this money going to be spent on? Well, a big chunk of it, $45.6 billion, is going to enforcement. And this is the primary area that Democrats want the IRS to focus on. That is over half of the total funding going to the IRS, dwarfing their current annual budget of $12.6 billion. With that large of an increase, and the deleted job posting appearing to be for a special agent with the use of firearms and deadly force, the evidence points to the IRS expanding the Criminal Investigations department.
The argument in support of this increase is “if you pay your taxes you have nothing to fear.” That line of argument conveniently ignores what a weaponized government agency is capable of.
Let’s be clear about one thing: Christians are explicitly commanded to pay their taxes in the Bible. But be vigilant, as 1 Peter 5:8 says, because the devil is looking for people to devour, and he is more than happy to use government agencies to do that. Taxes are a complex issue, and taking the time, putting in the work, ensuring proper documentation and educating oneself on everything they need to do to submit accurate returns is both prudent and obedient.
Even when a person submits everything as it should be, issues can still arise. It’s not a conspiracy to think the IRS may just take submitted forms and throw them in a bucket. A 2013 Charisma News article discussed the IRS abuse under Lois Lerner. That event showed the IRS are able and willing to go after those they mark “dissenters.”
The further people dig into the additional funding of the IRS, the more they discover strange details buried in the legislation. U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) tweeted regarding IRS budget explosion inside the “Inflation Reduction Act”:
“Last week, Democrats in the House passed a bill to ban Americans from buying AR-15s, calling the AR-15 a ‘weapon of war.’ They exempted IRS from the ban. This week they will add tens of thousands of IRS agents to the budget…”
Yet another question comes to mind: Why does the IRS need exemption to have AR-15s, incorrectly called weapons of war? Who is the IRS going to war with? To have an agency that is so heavily armed because of taxes is a huge red flag, especially considering the IRS Mission statement:
“Provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.
This mission statement describes our role and the public’s expectation about how we should perform that role.
- In the United States, the Congress passes tax laws and requires taxpayers to comply.
- The taxpayer’s role is to understand and meet his or her tax obligations.
- The IRS role is to help the large majority of compliant taxpayers with the tax law, while ensuring that the minority who are unwilling to comply pay their fair share.”
The evidence is pointing to the IRS being much more aggressive in the coming years, and their actions resemble a country that is gearing up for war. With a bloated budget six times the size of what it currently has—and half of that being designated for enforcement (not customer service)—Christians should heed Peter’s words and be vigilant and watchful of what takes place in the coming days, months and years.
The 2024 election could be more important than anyone realizes. {eoa}
James Lasher is a Copy Editor at Charisma Media.
