IRS nabs thousands of wealthy tax cheats, snares over $1 billion in revenue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Snooty, rich tax evaders who refuse to even file tax returns are under the gun and getting nabbed left and right by the IRS, leading to well over $1 billion in funds recovered.

According to Friday remarks from a top Department of Treasury official, between 2010 and 2018, the audit rate for millionaires fell by 80 percent. And during the Trump Administration, as audit rates on high-income taxpayers fell, the share of audits on taxpayers with incomes under $200,000 increased. Meaning, folks with lower incomes were audited more than the rich scofflaws. In 2019, the top one percent of Americans was estimated to owe over one-fifth of unpaid taxes, leaving ordinary Americans to shoulder the burden.

To fix this, the IRS says it has channeled IRA funding toward significant investments to combat tax evasion.

“I am glad to now share the first results of an initiative we launched to pursue 125,000 wealthy taxpayers who had not filed taxes for years,” said Janet Yellen in Austin, Texas. “The IRS had not had the resources to pursue these wealthy non-filers. Now, it does, and we’re making significant progress. Today, I am announcing that, in only six months, nearly 21,000 of these taxpayers have already filed, leading to $172 million recovered. This is just a first milestone, and we look forward to more progress ahead.

“The IRS also continues to make substantial progress to collect tax debt from wealthy filers. I am glad to share today that nearly 80 percent of 1,600 millionaires with delinquent tax debt have now paid, leading to over $1.1 billion recovered. This is an additional $100 million since July, when we announced reaching the $1 billion milestone.”

If you are rich and refuse to even file a tax return, hopefully, karma awaits thee.