Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request Hearing for the Internal Revenue Service

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2025 budget request for the Internal Revenue Service:

Thank you, Chairman Joyce and Ranking Member Hoyer, for holding this hearing.

And thank you, Commissioner Werfel, for being here today. I want to welcome you to the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, and I thank you for your public service.

It is vitally important for our nation's governance, for our national security, and for every program and service provided to the American people, that we have a strong, secure, and a well-supported Internal Revenue Service.

An underfunded IRS means slower processing of Americans' tax returns – and delays to crucial benefits like the Child Tax Credit. There were folks who told us in 2020 that, one, we could not have an expanded and improved Child Tax Credit, and secondly, we could not get the IRS to be able to deliver the checks on a monthly basis. Huzzah! The IRS delivered the checks on a monthly basis starting that July, and with 98% accuracy in getting the payments out to whom they were to go to. I thank you for that, and the families thank you for that.

Underfunding the IRS means those with the most resources, like billionaires and powerful corporations, can often escape scrutiny, and avoid paying taxes, when the IRS cannot afford to ensure they are meeting their obligations.

In 2021, at least 55 of the largest corporations in America – in a year where they took in over $40 billion in pretax income – paid no federal corporate income taxes. Zero. Nada. Nothing.

Corporations like Nike, Hewlett Packard, and Dish Network, paid zero federal income taxes, profiting on the backs of honest American families.

Every dollar the IRS spends on auditing the average account yields just over $2, a notable return on investment – but for the wealthiest tenth of one percent, audits produce nearly triple the return, with each dollar yielding over $6 in revenue.

Through last year's debate over IRS funding, we would hear some members of the majority improperly call this activity – the IRS collecting tax that is legally owed – a tax increase.

Complete nonsense.

We protect honest, hard-working, tax-paying Americans by ensuring the wealthiest individuals and corporations are paying the taxes that they owe.

This committee has made several investments – annually, and in the Inflation Reduction Act – in the IRS to ensure it has the resources to collect taxes owed and improve services, and indeed, there has been great progress in modernizing the IRS for the American people.

With our investments, the IRS has significantly improved customer service, with call wait times of just over three minutes, and a 37 percent increase of taxpayers served in-person.

The IRS is also piloting a Direct File program, allowing taxpayers in 12 states with simple returns to file for free, directly with the IRS. There is simply no good reason that American taxpayers are all but forced to use costly private services to be sure they are paying their taxes correctly.

The government, at a minimum, should be able to tell taxpayers if they are paying the amounts they owe. This is an important step forward in making government work better for the people.

And critically, now that it has the resources to audit the wealthiest individuals and corporations, the IRS has collected $520 million in back taxes from roughly 1,000 delinquent millionaires and billionaires.

Rolling these investments back would only serve those who seek to escape paying the taxes they owe – getting a free ride on the backs of hardworking and honest American families.

This committee must continue to ensure the IRS has the resources to complete its mission.

It would be foolish for a business to slash its accounts receivable department in an effort to save money. The U.S. government should not do so, either.

Thank you again for being here and for your public service to our country. I yield back the balance my time.