Report
Rebuilding IRS Would Reduce Tax Gap, Help Replenish Depleted Revenue Base
A decade of budget cuts has severely undermined the agency’s ability to perform its fundamental jobs of enforcing the nation’s tax laws.
IRS Funding and Tax Compliance
New on this Topic
Policy Basics
The IRS performs two core functions of government: enforcing the nation’s tax laws and helping taxpayers navigate a tax system that relies on voluntary compliance.
We work to ensure that the IRS has sufficient resources to perform its fundamental tasks so everyone pays the taxes they owe.
Receive the latest news and reports from the Center
Rebuilding IRS Would Reduce Tax Gap, Help Replenish Depleted Revenue Base
A decade of budget cuts has severely undermined the agency’s ability to perform its fundamental jobs of enforcing the nation’s tax...
Building an Equitable Recovery Requires Investing in Children, Supporting Workers, and Expanding Health Coverage
The recovery legislation that policymakers will consider later this year provides a historic opportunity to build toward an equitable...
This Year’s Tax Day Highlights Need to Rebuild IRS
This Tax Day, delayed until July 15 to help taxpayers deal with the disruptions caused by COVID-19, should be a wake-up call for policymakers to invest in core government functions like the IRS....
Next Stimulus Bill Should Include Volunteer Tax Assistance Funding
Policymakers gave the IRS additional funds in the CARES Act of March, acknowledging that the agency is playing a critical role in responding to today’s economic crisis by delivering more than...
IRS Stimulus Glitches Show Cost of Earlier Cuts
IRS workers deserve tremendous credit for delivering — in just weeks — 88 million stimulus payments during a pandemic. But the IRS’ challenges in doing so make clear that years of...
GAO: 2017 Tax Law Creating New Compliance Challenges for IRS
The already overburdened IRS “may face challenges ensuring compliance” with certain parts of the 2017 tax law, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds, particularly the 20...
Depletion of IRS Enforcement Is Undermining the Tax Code
Testimony of Chye-Ching Huang, Senior Director for Economic Policy, CBPP, before the House Ways and Means...
Policymakers Should Ensure Pass-Throughs Pay More of Taxes They Owe
High-income taxpayers drive much of the “tax gap” — the gap between what taxpayers owe and what they voluntarily pay on time — finds a new paper from Professor Natasha Sarin and former...
Taxing High Incomes, Large Fortunes More Effectively
Policymakers who seek to raise more revenue from the nation’s wealthiest individuals could, for instance, strengthen the estate tax, raise the top personal income tax rate, end preferential...