The IRS push to take on America's ultra-rich is proving a formidable task

22nd February 2024

In 2022, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service received a historic infusion of $80 billion, partly to bulk up the beleaguered agency's capacity to audit America's ultra-rich.

The IRS has since touted some early wins, including opening 1,600 new cases against millionaires and billionaires last year and recouping several hundred million dollars in unpaid taxes as a result. Meanwhile, Republicans have sought to claw back the new funding.

ICIJ spoke with more than a dozen current and former federal tax officials who painted a picture of an agency at a crossroads.

They described how agents investigating suspected tax cheats frequently came up against their entourages — formidable teams of white-shoe attorneys and highly specialized tax experts. The agents were often outmatched, the former officials said.

"The really experienced people tend to be on the outside [of the IRS]," said Charles Rettig, who ran the IRS under former president Donald Trump and left in 2022. "That's a major hurdle."

ICIJ investigations, such as the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, have exposed how wealthy people and corporations often surround themselves with complex legal structures to whittle down their tax bills — or dodge them altogether.

To keep up with the ever-evolving tax maneuvers, the IRS must modernize, observers said, while also staving off constant political attacks.

"It's going to be a fight every time," said Jean Ross, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a D.C.-based think tank.

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