WASHINGTON — The IRS has collected $1.3 billion from high wealth tax dodgers since last fall, the agency announced Friday, crediting spending that has ramped up collection enforcement through President Joe Biden’s signature climate, health care and tax package signed into law in 2022.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel traveled to Austin, Texas, to tour an IRS campus and announce the latest milestone in tax collections as Republicans warn of big future budget cuts for the tax agency if they take over the White House and Congress.
Yellen, in a planned speech in Austin, will say that in 2019, the top one percent of wealthy Americans owed more than one-fifth of all unpaid taxes, “leaving ordinary Americans to shoulder the burden. ”
“To fix this, we’ve channeled IRS funding toward significant investments to combat tax evasion,” she says.
In 2023 and 2024 the IRS launched a series of initiatives aimed at pursuing high-wealth individuals who have failed to pay their tax debts. The IRS says the campaign is focused on taxpayers with more than $1 million in income and more than $250,000 in recognized tax debt.
Agency officials say since the program’s launch, almost 80% of the 1,600 millionaires targeted by the IRS for failing to pay a delinquent tax debt have now made a payment, leading to over $1.1 billion recovered. And a in the first six months of a new February 2024 initiative, the IRS collected $172 million from 21,000 wealthy taxpayers who have not filed tax returns since 2017.
Republicans have called for funding for the IRS to be cut.
Donald Trump’s campaign for president says he would drastically reduce spending on federal agencies — and that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.”
In its efforts to modernize, the agency this year also launched a program called Direct File, which allows people with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. The IRS said in April that those using the program claimed more than $90 million in refunds.
While the program included 12 participating states in the 2024 tax filing season, more states have joined in for the 2025tax season, including Maryland, Oregon, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Connecticut, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Maine.
The Treasury Department recently announced a major victory in its efforts to crack down on tax evasion by high wealth individuals. Through a targeted enforcement initiative, the Treasury was able to recover a staggering $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes from individuals who had been evading their tax obligations.
This successful recovery is a testament to the Treasury’s commitment to holding wealthy individuals accountable for their tax responsibilities. The initiative, which involved close collaboration between the IRS and other government agencies, focused on identifying and pursuing individuals who had been using complex financial structures and offshore accounts to hide their income and assets from the IRS.
The recovered funds will now be used to support critical government programs and services that benefit all Americans. This includes funding for infrastructure projects, education initiatives, healthcare programs, and other essential services that rely on tax revenue to operate effectively.
In addition to the financial impact of this recovery, the Treasury’s success sends a strong message to other high wealth individuals who may be considering evading their tax obligations. The government is actively pursuing those who attempt to cheat the system, and there are serious consequences for those who are caught engaging in tax evasion.
Moving forward, the Treasury will continue to prioritize enforcement efforts targeting tax evasion by high wealth individuals. By ensuring that everyone pays their fair share of taxes, the government can maintain a level playing field and ensure that all Americans contribute their fair share to support the common good.
Overall, the successful recovery of $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes is a significant win for the Treasury and for American taxpayers. It demonstrates the government’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the tax system and holding those who seek to evade their responsibilities accountable for their actions.
