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NY War Room: ICYMI – LTE From NY-22 Resident Demands Explanation From Brandon Williams On IRS Funding

July 13, 2023

New York, NY – In case you missed it, a letter to the editor from a NY-22 constituent called out Brandon Williams for his absurd idea to defund the IRS by over $20 billion

The Liverpool resident slammed Williams for an explanation for his “troublesome” statements that we “need to spend less money, not audit more Americans.” Williams’ proposal would reduce tax revenue by a whopping $240 billion. 

“Brandon Williams’ floating a $20 billion rollback in IRS funding is ‘troublesome’ at best, and dangerous at worst,” said HMP New York Press Secretary Dora Pekec. “New Yorkers are tired of Brandon Williams’ careless proposals in Congress and his blatant lack of accountability.”

Read the full letter below: 

“To the Editor:

I found it troublesome that Rep. Brandon Williams would state that “I think we need to spend less money, not audit more Americans” and that he supported clawing back $20 billion funding for the IRS (Brandon Williams on migrant crisis: Don’t export ‘progressive problems’ to Upstate NY,” June 2, 2023).

According to a team of researchers that included Harvard University and the Treasury Department, for each dollar the IRS spends on auditing high earners, the U.S. government receives $12 in return. That’s a great rate of return. By reducing IRS funding by $20 billion, tax revenue will potentially be reduced by $240 billion.

Most of us are for not raising taxes. A better funded IRS, with the ability to audit more high earners, raises revenues more efficiently than raising taxes does. I would think that that should be very attractive to all of us responsible taxpayers.

Finally, I don’t understand the position taken that we do not need to fund the ability to enforce our tax laws. Audits are meant to ensure taxpayers pay what they legally owe the U.S. government. Is defunding the IRS facilitating law-breaking?

I would like a better explanation from Williams as to why he thinks reducing IRS funding by $20 billion is a good thing. The numbers simply do not add up.

Eric Holmes

Liverpool”

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