The following statement was released today by David Kass, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, in response to the news that Republicans are looking to accelerate spending cuts to the IRS:

“Republicans continue to be laser-focused on a single issue — protecting the wealthiest from paying their fair share in taxes. The increased IRS funding from the historic Inflation Reduction Act has already cut wait times and added services for taxpayers while simultaneously allowing the IRS to recoup funds from super-rich tax cheats.

Republicans continually shout about the size of the deficit, using it as an excuse to try to cut services that Americans rely on. Yet according to the Congressional Budget Office, cutting the IRS budget costs our country billions. Why then, would Republicans work so hard to slash this funding and add to the deficit? We know the answer: to protect mega-rich tax cheats rather than helping hard working Americans.”