The first bill taken up by the US House under Republican leadership rescinded the billions of dollars in new funding that was set aside for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents. 

In a 221 to 210 vote along party lines, the House Republicans passed the Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act which looks to repeal the $80 billion to support 87,000 new agents to audit Americans. Congressman for Iowa’s Third District Zach Nunn believes these new IRS agents would disproportionately audit middle to low income households, small businesses and farmers. 

“We’re taking that back. What we want to see is innovation at the IRS so that they have the ability to be efficient. And for the vast majority of people who want to file their taxes the right way and do it correctly every single year, recognize those individuals, be a source of customer service, not a three year after the fact, source of audit and retribution.” 

Nunn says that the IRS is already a proven service that hasn’t been able to innovate and they need to operate within their own budget. The Biden Administration released a statement condemning the bill passed by the House Republicans calling it reckless and denied the claim that it would increase audits on small businesses and households.