In general, how do you feel about the US government’s recent moves to reduce IRS headcount and funding?

👍 Approve (32%) – "I am a tax accountant who has watched the IRS prey on middle-class taxpayers when many wealthier people are not pursued for tax bills they already owe. The IRS hires incompetent people and seems not to have any training for them."

• "Like anything, there's probably better ways to go about improving bureaucracy in the IRS, but I'm glad it's happening. The NYT article addresses some important points that shouldn't be ignored, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't cut anything. Also, I feel like the dropping audit rate could be contributed to a lot of things and I have more questions than the NYT article really addressed. The IRS staffing increased since 2015ish, has the audits become more effective since then? If not, why do we think more staff is the solution? Has the population of taxpayers increased since 1950? If so, isn't it likely the # of audits has increased even as the rate has gone down? What about the rate of return on audits? Has that gotten better or worse? The answers to these questions might not necessarily support one side or another, but I think it's important to remember there is always a lot of nuance in these topics."

"Our entire federal income tax process needs to be revamped and simplified. For those of us who work one job and pay taxes through our employer, they should just take the amount they need and leave us alone - no tax return required. The tax return process is ridiculous for all of us in simple tax situations (don't own a business, have rental properties, etc)"

👎 Disapprove (56%) – "They have not announced plans on what they specifically entail to do, such as who exactly is to be cut, and how they plan to mitigate any hardships from these cuts. This is not a system you can just shrink, majorly change, or get rid of without a clear plan. More will fall through the cracks and everyday individuals will have difficulties getting their taxes straight in an already stressful time."

• "Shrinking the IRS while claiming you are trying to decrease the deficit does not make sense to me. The statistics show that an employee in tax enforcement brings into the government more than they are paid. Lowering the number of audits also will increase the likelihood of people “taking their chances” when paying taxes due to low enforcement rates."

This is not going to save the government money. Lost tax revenue will be 5 times what they save by reducing auditors and tax enforcement people. The only way this would work is to eliminate all deductions and impose a flat tax on all income for everyone based on income levels."

• "It's one thing to streamline automation and cut down on headcount if the tax code is simple. But doing these things without simplifying the tax code first just makes it easier for higher earners to avoid paying their fair share. In other countries, they tell you how much you owe. Wouldn't it be so nice and easy to enforce if our tax code was that simple?"

"It is one area where more enforcement could bring in more revenue. I would love to believe that they have "run the numbers" to see which side comes out ahead, but this administration seems to be make cuts review later and hope for the best."

• "The IRS has been underfunded and understaffed for years. Additionally, their available resources, such as upgraded technology, have been scarce. This appears to be a step towards allowing those people with more complicated tax returns, the top 5%, to pay fewer taxes, and continue to add to the US deficit."

🤷 Unsure/other (12%) – "If our tax system was simplified, then it would be harder to cheat and we wouldn't need as many auditors. This is up to Congress to fix."