(FreedomBeacon.com)- According to a recent poll, a majority of Americans support the Republican House’s effort to block the Biden administration from expanding the IRS by hiring an additional 87,000 agents.
The Convention of States/Trafalgar Group poll found that 60 percent of respondents approve of Congress rescinding the provision included in the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” that provided $80 billion to hire 87,000 IRS agents.
In their first act as the majority, on January 9, the Republican-led House voted along party lines to rescind nearly $71 billion of the $80 billion in funding.
According to the Trafalgar poll, 84 percent of Republicans approve of the move compared to only 26 percent of Democrats. A majority of unaffiliated voters, 61 percent, also approve.
The White House has defended the expansion of the IRS, arguing that the agency would only target the very wealthy. However, the Biden administration is also expected to set its sights on small businesses and self-employed as a way to bring in over $200 billion in tax revenue.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, between 78-90 percent of new revenue from the expansion of the IRS would come from families making less than $200,000 a year.
Earlier this month, the Washington Free Beacon reported that in 2022, poor Americans had a far greater chance of being audited by the IRS than any other income group, according to a study from Syracuse University.
The study found that while the IRS audited only 0.19 percent of the vast majority of taxpayers in 2022, among those making below $25,000, 1.27 percent were audited. In short, the poor were about 550 percent more likely to be audited than the average tax filer.
While the House passed a bill to stop the additional 87,000 IRS agents, it is unlikely the legislation will make it through the Democrat-controlled Senate.
During the debate on the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Republicans tried to include an amendment stipulating that the additional agents would not be used to target anyone making less than $400,000 a year. The Democrats defeated the amendment.
