Kansas State Senator Roger Marshall has recently introduced a bill called “ The Preventing Frivolous Actions by IRS Agents Act”. The goal of this legislation is to compensate U.S. taxpayers who are incorrectly targeted by a failed IRS audit. Under this bill, taxpayers would receive compensation after the disposition of their audit case, which ultimately involves the completion of judicial proceedings.
Eligible Taxpayers Under The Bill
Under this new legislation, an eligible taxpayer is defined as a “taxpayer whose gross income for the taxable year in which the audit is commenced does not exceed $400,000, and who is not convicted of any crime related to the audit.”
The bill also states that eligible taxpayers will receive compensation for court costs, and any other expense that is related to the taxpayer’s defense against the audit (including your accounting fees)!
Senator Marshall
Senator Marshall did not mince words when he addressed the reasoning for his introduction of this bill. Marshall goes on to say, “Joe Biden and the Democrats stuck working and middle-class Kansans with a massive spending scam that gives the IRS the green light to aggressively snoop around in their personal finances. “Defending a frivolous audit is expensive and the IRS should pay the bill, not innocent Americans who were wrongly targeted by an overzealous federal accountant.”
IRS Ammunition
Marshall also introduced another bill, and it is quite eye-opening as not many people were aware of the circumstances. The other bill that was introduced would require the IRS to sell its “Stockpile of Ammunition.” According to recent reports, the Internal Revenue Service currently has a stockpile of ammo that is worth approximately $700,000. The legislation introduced by Senator Marshall would mandate the stockpile of ammunition to be sold by the IRS within 90 days after the bill is put into law.
According to the bill, The revenue from the sales of ammunition must be “deposited in the general fund of the Treasury less any reasonable costs incurred by the General Services Administration in selling the ammunition.”
“The IRS currently possesses a massive ammunition stockpile. Joe Biden wants the IRS to squeeze every cent it possibly can out of law-abiding American taxpayers and this ammo must be sold before federal law enforcement can potentially use it to threaten and oppress citizens,” Marshall said.
Wrap-Up
Part of the Inflation Reduction Act included a huge boost to the Internal Revenue Service, giving them $80 billion over the next decade. Along with the $80 billion in funding that goes to the IRS, they have also hired roughly 90,000 audit agents that were hired with the intent to crack down on tax evasion and further beef up the agency.
This bill has not yet been signed into law, but if passed through legislation this can provide a lot of relief for middle-class taxpayers, who may have to deal with the stress of an unnecessary audit potentially coming their way this tax season.
The best ways to avoid an Audit are keeping a clean tab of all your tax records, and hiring an accountant or expert that can help you avoid a dreadful audit.