The House voted late on Jan. 9 to approve the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act, a bill that would rescind legislation approved last year providing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with $80 billion of funding over ten years to rebuild its workforce and replace legacy IT systems.
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 221-210, along party lines.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and attracted more than 80 Republican cosponsors.
“Congressmen Smith’s legislation eliminates the devastating IRS provision that Democrats snuck into their so-called Inflation Reduction Act by rescinding the funding to this D.C. agency,” stated Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., who spoke in favor of the bill prior to the House vote.
According to a release from Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bill would block “the Biden Administration from unleashing 87,000 new IRS agents to go after families and small businesses and their unprecedented increase in IRS audits.”
“The ‘Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection’ Act rescinds all new IRS funding for squeezing middle-class families and small businesses, while enhancing the services Americans expect to receive from their government. The IRS should be focused on providing quality service to taxpayers, not targeting them,” the committee release says.
The House-approved legislation, according to a separate press release from Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., would preserve funding to improve IRS customer service and modernize its IT operations.
The House bill is expected to face an uphill climb in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
