National Debt? Who Cares? Part 2

Misbegotten, vindictive changes afoot at the IRS will also have the effect of increasing the deficit and national debt, which is supposedly so important to fiscal hawks (usually Republicans).

Since yesterday, the Washington Post has reported that the agency "is nearing an agreement to allow immigration officials to use tax data to confirm the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally." Which means, of course, that all those undocumented people who've been paying taxes — and Social Security, Medicare, etc. — will be much less likely to pay them in the future.

The proposed agreement has alarmed career officials at the IRS, the people said, who worry that the arrangement risks abusing a narrow and seldom-used section of privacy law that’s meant to help investigators build criminal cases, not enforce criminal penalties....

If approved, the agreement would represent a significant shift in how federal agencies manage both taxpayer information and immigration enforcement. The IRS has for years reassured undocumented workers that their tax information is confidential and that it is safe for them to file income tax returns without fear of being deported. 

Radley Balko said this about the agreement on BlueSky:

Using tax info to target undocumented people puts the lie to the claim that undocumented people don't pay taxes.... It's similar to detaining them at hearings and check-ins while claiming they never show up for hearings and check-ins.

Today the Post also reported (gift link, I think) that the general chaos at the IRS — mass firings and erosion of enforcement — on its own could decrease revenue by 10% this spring. That's $500 billion. "For context, the U.S. government spent $825 billion on the Defense Department in fiscal 2024."

The IRS has noticed an uptick in online chatter from individuals declaring their intention to not pay taxes this year or to aggressively claim credits and deductions for which they are ineligible, the three people said — wagering that auditors will not examine their accounts.