First off, Hitler analogies are never appropriate, especially when you are idolizing a politician who came close to subverting a free and fair election.
And that opinion is from the four honorable Republicans on our county Board of Supervisors and our GOP County Recorder. When our election officials are getting repeated death threats it is time to turn down the inflammatory rhetoric used by Mr. Kampert.
And really, the conspiracy over undercover federal agents posing as Trump supporters “egging on” the otherwise “peaceful” protesters on Jan. 6, who attempted to stop the counting of electoral votes, has long since been debunked by every credible news source. And that said, protesters that Mr. Kampert felt were entitled to enter the Capitol caused an estimated $2.73 million of damage to that “taxpayer-owned property,” a fact that Mr. Kampert conveniently forgot to mention.
And demonizing our country’s chief law enforcement agency (overseen by a Trump appointee no less) is never a good look. Ditto with the IRS. A July 2021 article by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities noted that funding of the IRS was 19% below the inflation adjusted 2010 level. Rebuilding the IRS is essential to reduce the tax gap (uncollected taxes) and replenish our depleted revenue base by enforcing the existing tax code.
The plan as detailed by Janet Yellen will not increase audits on those earning $400,000 or less, instead focusing on large corporations and super high-net-worth individuals. I find the inference of armed IRS agents barging into our homes patently offensive. The reality is that the vast majority of Americans have their taxes automatically deducted from their paychecks, as I did during my 38-year banking career.
Narrowing the tax gap from its estimated 15%-18% of total tax liability (translating to hundreds of billions of dollars a year and an estimated $7 trillion over the next decade) is a worthy goal that we should all be applauding.
I guess enforcing our tax code and prosecuting those who attempted to subvert our last election is now tantamount to stealing our country? With the future shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare, two programs that I’m guessing both Mr. Kampert and I enjoy, we will need to capture as much of the tax gap as possible. The only stealing going on is being done by those taxpayers cheating on their taxes.
Whereas the average taxpayer’s non-wage income sources are subject to reporting that promotes compliance, that is not true for super high-net-worth individuals. The number of IRS auditors uniquely qualified to audit those complex returns has fallen over 39% since 2010 to a level last seen in 1954. To rebuild, the agency needs the resources to aggressively hire and train new agents, particularly given the high number of agents eligible for retirement over the next several years.
