“We Need to Increase Funding for the IRS so That They Can Hold Tax Cheats Accountable”

Sunday, May 19
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Contact: Sam Quigley
sam@patrioticmillionaires.org
202-446-0489

 

“We Need to Increase Funding for the IRS so That They Can Hold Tax Cheats Accountable”

“This should be an easy decision to make, an increase in enforcement funding will quite literally pay for itself.”

 

Washington, DC – Today, as the House Ways and Means Committee meets to address the “tax gap,” the $400 billion difference between what taxpayers owe the federal government and what they pay on time, Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement:

“One cause for the growing inequality in our nation is that the tax rates for wealthy investors are already lower than they should be, especially after the Trump tax cuts. Unfortunately, some people  — mostly wealthy business owners — don’t even pay the taxes that they are legally required to pay.  Part of the reason for that is that the IRS funding has been cut, so that while it is easy to match up someone wages from their W2, it is much more difficult for the IRS to verify that business people are properly calculating their taxable income.

We need to increase funding for the IRS so that they can hold tax cheats accountable. This should be an easy decision to make, an increase in enforcement funding will quite literally pay for itself. This is such obviously good policy that it seems the only reason any lawmaker would resist is to protect criminal tax evaders who have a financial interest in keeping the IRS as weak as possible.”

For further comments or questions, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.

 

###

About the Patriotic Millionaires

Proud “traitors to their class,” members of the Patriotic Millionaires are high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America. The mission of The Patriotic Millionaires organization is to build a more stable, prosperous, and inclusive nation by promoting public policies based on the “first principles” of equal political representation, a guaranteed living wage for all working citizens, and a fair tax system. You can find out more at https://patrioticmillionaires.org/about/

The Patriotic Millionaires have appeared on hundreds of media outlets here and abroad, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and many others. You can find more coverage at https://patrioticmillionaires.org/media

###