Ross: IRS has new no-pursuit policy with debt ceiling deal
May 31, 2023, 7:12 AM | Updated: 9:11 am

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 19: A screen shows the national debt clock after the US hit its debt limit and the Treasury started using 芒extraordinary measures芒聺 to avoid default on January 19, 2023, in New York, United States. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress to suspend or raise the debt limit to avoid default on any obligation of the government, and said the country芒s outstanding debt is projected to reach the statutory limit beginning Thursday, which was raised to almost $31.4 trillion on Dec. 16, 2021. (Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(Photo by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
House Republicans held a news conference Tuesday to call the debt deal a huge success! And one of the reasons they were calling it a huge success?
“We also have a downpayment in this package of a … $1.4 billion rescission of the IRS,” (R-NC) said.
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And what does that mean?
“That takes away the full enforcement budget for this fiscal year,” McHenry continued.
The full enforcement budget!
And that鈥檚 not all.
“And then we have a pledge from the administration, they’ll be willing to take $10 billion of cuts this coming fiscal year from IRS, and 10 the following year,” McHenry said.
So under this deal, the IRS will have a no-pursuit policy! Plus, the tax cheats get a two-year head start!
This is the Republican dream fulfilled 鈥 and an incredible gift from the Democrats, who apparently also agreed to this.
And yet, after the official Republican news conference inside the capitol, there was an unofficial聽Republican news conference outside the capitol where (R-TX) said that this was not what he wanted.
“If you’re out there watching this, every one of my colleagues would be very clear, not one Republican should vote for this deal,” Roy said. “It is a bad deal.”
Rep. Roy of Texas is one of the members who stoked this crisis 鈥 and now thinks it has backfired.
“No one sent us here to borrow an additional $4 trillion to get absolutely nothing in return,” Roy said.
Then why did you pull this stunt?
Could it be that both sides got played here?
I鈥檓 not a big believer in conspiracies, but it looks to me like the big winners here just happen to be the tax cheats.
I realize 鈥渢ax cheat鈥 is an indelicate term; I鈥檓 sure these people鈥 who tend to be in the top 5%鈥 have good and noble reasons for not paying what they legally owe; they probably just forgot.
When you don鈥檛 pay withholdings the way salaried people do, it鈥檚 easy to forget. But these also happen to be the class of people candidates hit up for big donations come campaign time.
And this deal means the IRS will have to adopt a no-pursuit policy. It means the highway is clear, there are no cops waiting in the bushes, and all the lights are green. Very, very green.
Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5 鈥 9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.