These IRS cuts are unfair to honest taxpayers - making it harder for them to file their returns and easier for dishonest people to cheat.

Making the debate over how much to cut is exactly the opposite of what needs to happen -- the debate needs to be about how much to increase the IRS's budget as part of a much needed rebuild.

Now, House Republicans, in particular, are targeting the base budget of IRS with Senate Democrats - and Senate Republicans to a degree seemingly - trying to blunt the damage

Republicans first targeted the mandatory funding -- going after enforcement in particular, despite the deep cuts in audits they had caused

The Republicans spent a decade gutting the IRS. During the Biden Admin., a rebuild plan was enacted which envisioned two key pillars: robust base funding combined with supplemental mandatory funding

The Trump Administration is doing the exact opposite, instead proposing deep cuts in nondefense R & – it’s hard to overstate how important it is for the Congress to reject this effort
www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

An underlying theme of the research is that the US should be investing more in nondefense R & D to boost future living standards.

CBO has now weighed in with a stunning analysis that highlights the economic power of investments in non-defense R & D:
www.cbo.gov/system/files...

While this connection has long been recognized, it has been difficult to quantify. Recent exciting research from @A_Fieldhouse, Karel Mertens, @ArnaudDyèvre, & others take a key step forward in connecting the investments to productivity growth, eg:
www.dallasfed.org/~/media/docu...

Investments in non-defense R & D have long been a critical component of the govt-university-private sector US innovation machine
stacker.com/stories/busi...

This is an upside-down plan that walks away from campaign promises to serve those at the margins of the economy.

The tax cuts will be partly offset by taking away/cutting food assistance, health coverage, income assistance, & college aid, making it harder for people to afford their basic needs and limiting opportunity.

Meanwhile, the Ways and Means bill does nothing about the elephant that is going to be in their hearing room on Tuesday: the Trump tariffs --- which would erase much of the small working-class gains from their skewed tax bill while risking recession.

And for all of the feigned concern about budget deficits, the House bill likely costs hundreds of billions more than a full extension of the already bloated 2017 tax law. (More to come when JCT scores are released.) The ultimate cost would be much higher without budget gimmicks.

No tax on tips barely registers b/c it affects a tiny share of workers. (Chart is from an older bill but same story here.) And deductions for overtime & seniors add to the cost but don’t fundamentally change the story either (& leave out lower income filers).

And none of the much-touted new tax exemptions change the picture.